Divergent in Abnegation
by Zariha321
Summary: I know there are several out there, but I wanted to know how I would write it if Tris and Tobias decided to stay in Abnegation. I'm hoping to stray from what others have written and breathe some new life into this story. Let me know what you think!
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything!

Chapter 1

Tris

Today is choosing day. All of the sixteen year olds make our way to the Hub where we will make the choice between the five factions and decide our future. Sometimes I don't think that a sixteen year old is old enough to make this kind of choice. When we had our aptitude test, mine said that I was undetermined. I am equally suited for Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. I don't think I am selfless enough to stay in Abnegation and Erudite is completely out of the question, I have no desire to study for the rest of my life. My heart tells me that I Dauntless would be the best place for me, but can I leave my family behind? I look over at Caleb as we make our way up the stairs to the choosing ceremony. He has always been the perfect Abnegation. So selfless that it almost makes me sick. After our aptitude tests, he told me that I should think about my choices and think about myself. This choice will determine my future; there is no going back once the choice is made.

We enter the room in which the choosing ceremony will be held. Abnegation is hosting this year so one of our leaders, Marcus Eaton is standing on the stage in the front of the room with the five bowls depicting the five factions in front of him; water for Erudite, hot coals for Dauntless, grey stones for Abnegation, earth for Amity, and glass for Candor. They call all the sixteen year olds in reverse order so Caleb will be called to choose before me. I'm sure that Caleb will stay in Abnegation, but I am still undecided. I just don't know what I'm going to do.

I turn and scan the people in the auditorium and find my parents. My father looks stern but his eyes deceive him, there is apprehension there. He is worried about what we are going to do. My mother locks eyes with me and she smiles encouragingly. She told me this morning that no matter what my decision is, she would love me. She has always understood that my first instinct is not selflessness it is self-preservation, something that is not an Abnegation trait. But I look at my parents and I'm not sure that I can turn my back on them and leave them behind. Faction over blood is the motto of all of the factions. We are to be loyal to the faction that we choose, so it would be inappropriate to long for your family if we choose to leave them.

As I scan the rest of the audience, I see a young man standing in the back of the room. He is Marcus' son Tobias Eaton. He stands there with the same grey Abnegation clothing that the rest of the men from our faction wear. He also wears the same stern look as my father, but like my father his eyes betray his icy exterior. His eyes are warm and good-natured, but there is a hint of malice when he looks toward his father. Suddenly he drops his eyes from the stage to our group and he locks eyes with me. We stare at each other for a long moment and my heart flutters. He is quite handsome, but older than I am. He gives me a small smirk and I drop my eyes and turn around. I almost feel as though his gaze is still upon me even though I have turned my attention back to the front of the room.

This is not the first time he has caught me looking at him. He used to live across the street from us with his father before he became a full member of Abnegation two years ago. So I would see him as we walked to the bus to school and home, also when he was performing outside chores around the neighborhood. Once I was washing windows at our elderly neighbor's house while he was cutting her grass and I couldn't help but to watch him as he did her yard work. For an Abnegation man, he is very muscular and in spite of his Abnegation clothing you can see his tone body quite well while he does manual labor. I got distracted watching him and he caught me watching him through the window. He often stayed to himself, but that is a normal Abnegation trait. It is hard to make friends when they believe it is selfish to talk about yourself, but how do you get to know people if you don't talk a little about yourself?

Marcus begins speaking about choices and the seriousness of the choices that we are about to make. He begins to call names in reverse alphabetical order and we stand quietly and wait our turn.

When he calls Caleb, I am positive he will be Abnegation. I am shocked when Caleb cuts his hand and reaches it over the bowl of water, choosing Erudite. How didn't I know that he was going to do this? He was always the perfect selfless person. But in school he did have a thirst for knowledge, and I once saw a stack of books on his desk in his room but I assumed they were for school.

"Beatrice Prior," Marcus calls.

I am so lost in thought that I almost miss my name being called.

I make my way to the front of the room and on to the stage where the bowls sit. Marcus hands me the knife and I slice my hand. I scan the crowd for my parents again and my father now looks sad and worried, his face no longer displaying its usual harsh expression and my mother nods and smiles encouragingly. Then I look up and meet Tobias' eyes. His look is one of curiosity and hopefulness. I wonder what that means.

Marcus clears his throat behind me. I have stood here long enough for the blood in my hand to pull and for a couple drops to hit the floor in front of me. I walk forward and place my hand between the Dauntless and Abnegation bowls. I look toward where the Erudite are and think about what my parents would do if we both left them. What would happen to them? I close my eyes and let my blood drop into a bowl. I open my eyes to see that my hand is over the Abnegation bowl. I will be selfless. I will be lost among the Abnegation for the rest of my life. I will never be able to be myself.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything!

Chapter 2

Tobias

I stand in the back of the choosing ceremony glaring at the man standing in the front of the room. Every day since my own choosing I have regretted my decision to stay with the Abnegation. I should have run away, I should have done everything in my power to get away from him. Although he should have no power over me anymore, he still manages to invade my life in one way or another.

Marcus stands on the stage watching as the sixteen year olds enter the room. As he prepares to begin the ceremony I can't help but to glare at him. He portrays himself as this perfect Abnegation man, selfless and caring. But behind closed doors, he is a monster. The kind of man that beats on his wife until she finally decides to disappear and abuses his son by whipping him and locking him in a closet to punish him for things he didn't do. I spent most of my life staying away from the house by doing chores for neighbors and volunteering for every possible organization I could. I would deliver food to the factionless for Mrs. Prior, entertain the elderly in the retirement homes, and provide dinner to the children in the daycares after school. But he still managed to find a reason to whip me or somehow beat me almost daily. Even when I became an older teenager and my body began to fill out I still cowered from his abuse.

I have always been naturally strong and physically powerful. But working with the elderly, lifting them from their beds to wheelchairs, moving boxes around for the nurses, lifting crates of food for the factionless, and other jobs I would perform has endowed me with a natural physique that is uncommon among Abnegation. Even with this strength and power, I still find that I cower from the belt that Marcus enjoys using on me. He has a mental hold on me that I have not been able to break up to this point.

As I glare at my evil father standing on the stage I feel the sensation of someone staring at me. I scan the room looking for the eyes that hold me and wash over me. Then I see her. Beatrice Prior, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Prior. They were our neighbors when I still lived with my father. I have done many volunteer hours around Beatrice and have noticed her before. She is quite pretty, small, and unlike any Abnegation I have ever met. She is curious and stubborn, smart and selfless all at the same time. She doesn't strike me as someone that will stay with Abnegation; she is too full of life.

I hold her gaze for what seems like hours. She intrigues me; she has for a long time. I first noticed her about three years ago when I was fifteen and she was thirteen. We were both delivering food to the factionless. One of the men grabbed her arm and accused her of holding out on him. She looked terrified and I was ready to go and help her, but she managed to kick him hard enough to force him to release her. Most Abnegation would think that harming another to save yourself is selfish and would have allowed the man to harm them or would have waited for someone to rescue them. But not Beatrice, she was unwilling to allow this strange man to harm her. When she forced him to let her go, she turned to see me standing close by. She was surprised that I had come to help her. She smiled at me and from that moment I was fascinated with her.

I smirk at her remembering that day and she quickly looks down and turns toward the front of the room. I continue to focus on her even when Marcus begins speaking about the seriousness of the choosing ceremony. I tune him out because I am too focused on Beatrice.

When it is her turn to approach the stage, she hesitates looking at her brother who is now heading toward the Erudite. She looks at him with disbelief and sadness. I guess she didn't realize that he would choose anything but Abnegation. He always did seem quite perfect for Abnegation.

She slowly walks toward the stage and stands before the five faction bowls and I can't take my eyes off of her. Marcus hands her the knife and she slices her hand immediately. She lets the blood pool in her hand as she scans the crowd looking toward her parents. Then her gaze settles on me. I can't help but hope that she stays with the Abnegation even though I know she belongs with them about as much as I do. Neither of us is very good examples of what an Abnegation member should be. Even still, I hope she stays so that I can find a way to get to know her better.

I watch as she places her hand between the Abnegation and Dauntless bowls, closes her eyes, and moves her hand over the grey rock indicating Abnegation. Her blood spills on the rocks, she has chosen Abnegation. Now I just have to find a way to place myself into her life so that I can get to know her better.

XXX

After all of the other sixteen year olds have chosen and the room has emptied out, I approach Marcus. I've decided I am going to take him up on his offer of training the initiates this year. Before the choosing ceremony he basically tried to order me to train the initiates, but in one of my first acts of defiance, I refused. Now I think it will be the best way to gain access to Beatrice without being too noticeable to others.

I approach him and help him breakdown chairs. "I've decided to take you up on your offer to train initiates," I tell him.

"What makes you think I still want you? You declined vehemently," he growls.

"Because you have no one else that can do the job as well as I can and you know it. I am the best person for the job that is why you tried to force me into it in the first place."

"So why the sudden change of heart?" he looks at me skeptically.

"I've just decided that I was being selfish by declining your offer," I knew this would get him.

"Fine, you best leave now then. Mr. and Mrs. Prior were taking them to the dorms to get them settled in. Since we didn't have anyone to train them, the leaders were going to take turns with them."

I turn to leave the room and feel the glare from my father on my back. I know he doesn't believe me, but I don't care.

I make my way across town to the Abnegation sector of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Prior have shown the initiates to the dorms and have explained that they will take turns making meals for one another and that they will be performing community service projects for their initiation. When I enter the room, all eyes turn to me, but the only ones I see belong to Beatrice.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Prior, I will be taking over initiation from here. I apologize for my late arrival; I had to speak to my father about my duties."

"We are very glad to see you, Tobias," Mr. Prior says.

"Initiates, this is Tobias Eaton. He will be your instructor for the next few weeks," says Mrs. Prior.

They bow their heads to me and leave me with the initiates.

I look around the room and there are only nine total initiates, seven Abnegation born and two Amity born. The room that we are in is big enough for fifteen beds.

"As they said, my name is Tobias and we will be working together for the next few weeks. We will begin community service tomorrow by sorting food to be handed out to the factionless. You will be responsible for being at the food sorting facility by 8:00 a.m. The food sorting facility is located just behind this building for those of you who do not know. You will break for lunch at noon, and then continue the sorting until dinner. You will not finish the sorting tomorrow because this will be a two day job. Following dinner, you will have the evenings to yourself. I know that this is something that Abnegation are not used to, but the next two days will be hard work and you will need your rest."

They all look at me quietly. None of them asks any questions or makes any comments. I can see that Beatrice has something on her mind, but I'm sure she realizes it would be inappropriate to ask questions.

"Dinner for this evening has already been prepared for you by some of the other members. After tonight you will be responsible for making your breakfast and dinner every day. Members will have lunch prepared for you since you have a limited amount of time for lunch every day. Are there any questions?"

One of the boys raises his hand, his name is Michael, "Where will you be staying in case we need you for something?"

"I will be staying in this same room. I will also be helping to prepare meals and during your volunteer projects. Any more questions?"

I scan the group and some of the girls look mortified. "Will the boys and girls be staying in the same room?" a girl named Susan asks.

"Yes, the idea is for you to become a family, working together to become one unit."

"If that is all," I continue, "we can make our way to the cafeteria for dinner."

The initiates file out of the room and I can see that Beatrice lags behind the rest. She is the last one to file out. I walk out behind her, but I don't speak to her. We walk slowly together to the cafeteria behind the rest of the group. She turns and smiles at me. And that is all I need to know that I made the right decision in training the initiates.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything!

Chapter 3

Tris

He enters our room and my mother and father introduces him as our instructor. I am completely dumbfounded. I can't understand why an eighteen year old would want to waste his time training initiates. But he smiles at the group of us and introduces himself again.

"As they said, my name is Tobias and we will be working together for the next few weeks. We will begin community service tomorrow by sorting food to be handed out to the factionless. You will be responsible for being at the food sorting facility by 8:00 a.m. The food sorting facility is located just behind this building for those of you who do not know. You will break for lunch at noon, and then continue the sorting until dinner. You will not finish the sorting tomorrow because this will be a two day job. Following dinner, you will have the evenings to yourself. I know that this is something that Abnegation are not used to, but the next two days will be hard work and you will need your rest."

We all watch him as he tells us about what we will be doing and what our responsibilities are around the compound.

I can't help but to stare at him. He is a very handsome man. He has short dark brown hair, and deep blue eyes. I could get lost in his eyes. He has a boyish smirk that curls his lips up on one side and his smile makes his eyes sparkle. I can see that all of the girls can't seem to keep their eyes off of him when he speaks, unlike the boys who focus on other things around the room while Tobias is speaking. There is a twinge of annoyance in my gut when I realize that every girl here is looking at him in the same way as I am. How can I possibly compete, especially with the girl from Amity?

I have to stop thinking like this though I am here to become a member of Abnegation. I stayed for my parents, so I have to do the very best that I can. Swooning over some boy isn't the way that I will pass initiation.

Michael asks, "Where will you be staying in case we need you for something?"

"I will be staying in this same room. I will also be helping to prepare meals and during your volunteer projects. Any more questions?"

"Will the boys and girls be staying in the same room?" Susan asks clearly mortified.

"Yes, the idea is for you to become a family, working together to become one unit."

He pauses to see if there are any more questions, but none of us says anything more.

"If that is all," I continue, "we can make our way to the cafeteria for dinner."

I can't believe he will be staying in the same room as we are. I suddenly become very self-conscious wondering if I have any weird sleeping habits or if I snore. I stand there for a long time contemplating my sleeping habits and how I can make sure I am sleeping as far from Tobias as possible. The rest of the initiates have filed out of the room and toward the cafeteria before I realize that I am lagging behind and that Tobias is still in the room with me. I start to leave the room and he follows, coming up next to me as we make our way to the cafeteria. I look at him and smile and he smiles back.

I can't help but to think that if I would have gone to another faction, I would never have had an opportunity to know him. And there is just something about him that I just can't help but want to get to know.

XXX

We enter the cafeteria and immediately go to the counter to retrieve our dinners. I move to sit between Susan and the girl from Amity.

Tobias sits at the head of the table and begins to eat his dinner. I can't help but to look his way frequently, and every time I do we lock eyes. Why is it every time I look at him, he is looking at me?

Once everyone is finished with dinner and before we begin to clean up Tobias stands to address us as a group.

"Since we are going to be acting as a family unit, I think it is time for introductions to make sure that everyone knows each other," he says. "I would like you to each stand and tell us your name and something about yourself."

Everyone looks somewhat confused, it is considered selfish to talk about ourselves. But I guess if we are to become a family, we should know a little about each other.

"I will begin," Tobias says. "My name is Tobias, I am eighteen years old. When I am not training initiates, I work in the control room managing the computer systems of Abnegation."

Wow, he has a really important job. They don't let just anyone work with the computer systems.

The next is a boy named Brian, he comes from Amity.

Then Michael stands and tells to call him Mike.

Then Mary, Sally, Matthew, and Anthony all from Abnegation speak.

Next is Felicia, she is from Amity and she is very happy to be here.

I can't help but wonder if she chose the right faction, she seems entirely too chipper to be here, unlike Brian who seems to fit right in with the solemn demeanor of the Abnegation.

Susan follows and then me.

"Hello, my name is Beatrice, but since we are supposed to be a family you can call me Tris, since that is what my family calls me."

After we finish our introductions, we clean up our dishes and head back to the dorm to get ready for bed. It has been a long day and I am exhausted. The girls move into the bathroom in order to change into our pajamas while the boys retreat into their bathroom to do the same thing.

I leave the bathroom before the rest of the girls and return to the dorm in time to see Tobias in the midst of changing his shirt. I can't help but notice that he is very well built for someone who isn't supposed to workout. Working out would be considered selfish. Then I notice the horrible scars on his back. They look like whip marks completely covering his entire back. I avert my eyes in time for him to turn around at the sound of footsteps. I keep my eyes down as he quickly pulls his shirt down to completely cover himself. I continue to my bunk across the room without making eye contact with him.

I can't help but wonder who or what caused those horrible marks on his back. Then I remember an article that the Erudite published recently about Marcus Eaton abusing his wife and son. My father was up in arms over this article saying that it was not possible for Marcus to be the monster that they claimed he was. He insisted that it was nothing but propaganda to use against the Abnegation to make us look selfish. Now I wonder if the stories are true. Is Marcus the monster that they portrayed in the article and is Tobias living proof of how horrible Marcus really is?

I feel him looking at me and I wonder if he realizes what I saw.

Once everyone has entered the room and the lights are out I lie there and think about the events of the day. It is hard to believe that the choosing ceremony was only a few hours ago. I could have chosen Dauntless, I could have chosen freedom but I chose my family. I chose a life that I'm not sure I want. Being selfless doesn't come naturally to me.

The breathing around the room becomes steady with some snores coming from some of the bunks. I can't sleep I'm to wired to rest right now. So I get up to take a walk.

I slide quietly out of the room and down the hall to the stairwell that leads to the roof. I make my way out onto the roof and just sit in the silence and look at the stars. I begin to feel my body relax in the silence of the night in Abnegation. I sit out here until I can feel myself drifting off to sleep and decide that it is time to return to my bunk to get some sleep. I'm not sure how long I stayed on the roof, but I have a feeling that this is going to be a nightly stroll for me.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own anything!

Chapter 4

Tobias

Once all of the initiates have left the room I decide that it would be safe for me to quickly change. I don't anticipate that any of them will return too quickly. I remove my pants and slip on my sweat pants then I remove my shirt and begin to slip my pajama shirt on when I hear the door slide open. I quickly pull my shirt down and cover myself completely before I turn to see that Beatrice has entered the room. Her eyes are on the floor and she does not make eye contact with me for even a moment. I wonder if she saw what I can only imagine the scars on my back must look like. Is that the reason that she does not look at me or is it simply because she walked in on me shirtless and is embarrassed? I can only hope that it is the latter.

All of the other initiates enter the room and find a bunk to make their own. Beatrice has chosen a bunk that is across the room from the other initiates. But her bunk is relatively close to mine. I wonder if she is trying to stay away from them or if she is trying to be closer to me. It is impossible to tell. Once all of the lights are out, I lay there and listen to the sounds of the others drifting off to sleep. Soon their breathing becomes steady as everyone drifts off to sleep. I feel myself growing more tired when I realize that someone is walking toward the doors. I open my eyes to see a small figure walking out of the door and turning to walk down the hall.

I quietly get up and follow her to see where she is going. She makes her way to the stairwell that has roof access and begins to climb. I follow at a distance behind her. I want to make sure she stays safe and I want to see what it is she is doing.

When I reach the roof, the door is propped open and she is sitting against the wall staring at the stars. She doesn't notice my presence and I only remain for a moment to see if she intends on doing anything else. But she remains sitting, seemingly relaxing.

I can't help but marvel at how beautiful she is. Her hair is out of its usual tight bun and it is streaming in waves over her shoulders and down her back. She wears pajamas that are a little tighter than the clothes the Abnegation normally wear. They show off her figure, which is absolutely perfect. She is perfectly proportioned, both dainty and strong at the same time.

I back my way down the stairs and go back to the dorm room. I lie awake until she returns a little while later. She places herself on her bunk and quickly drifts off to sleep. The sound of her light snores and rhythmic breathing lulls me to sleep.

XXX

The next morning I wake to the sound of feet hurrying around getting ready for the day. Beatrice is no longer in her bunk. She has probably retreated to bathroom to get ready for the day.

I decide it would be best to also use the bathroom to get dressed. When I return, Susan, Beatrice, and Felicia are helping each other to fix their hair. Susan places her own and Felicia's in the trademark Abnegation bun. But Felicia puts Beatrice's hair in a long braid down her back. This is an Amity hairstyle, but it fits Beatrice.

Everyone enters the cafeteria and begins to make breakfast of scrambled eggs, set the table, or serve the food. Everyone has a job and performs it perfectly. We all sit down to a quiet breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice. The eggs will give us protein, the toast carbs, and the orange juice vitamin C. A breakfast that fits perfectly into the Abnegation way of life, nothing of extravagance, plain food is all we are permitted to eat.

Following breakfast everyone quickly cleans up.

"Now we will move to the sorting facility to sort crates of food for the factionless. There are ten of us so we will work in teams of two in order to cover the most ground. Please pair off now, and whoever remains without a partner will partner with me. We will keep these same partners for the next two days while we are sorting."

They all begin to move toward a partner, Mike with Brian, Anthony and Matthew, Mary and Sally. The last three are Beatrice, Susan, and Felicia. Susan seems torn between the two girls so I decide to help make her decision for her.

"Beatrice, could you come help me with the dishes?" I ask her.

With that, Beatrice nods to the two other girls and they pair up and head out toward the sorting center.

Beatrice enters the kitchen and quietly begins helping me place the dishes from the industrial sized dishwasher back onto the shelves to be used again during lunch time.

"Thank you for your help, Beatrice. I hope I didn't stop you from choosing your partner," I say to her.

She looks at me and smiles, "I guess you are stuck with me as your partner. And please call me Tris that is what my family calls me."

We walk together to the sorting center, where the other groups have already been instructed on what to do by the person in charge and have been assigned an area. The man points Tris and I to the other side of the warehouse and we begin to move and sort crates of food.

While we work, I attempt to start up a conversation. "So Tris, what do you think sorting food has to do with being selfless?"

She thinks about this for a moment, "I guess it isn't as much about the actual sorting as it is about preparing the food to be handed out to the factionless. We are doing this in order to help people."

"And what else can this exercise teach us?" I ask.

"Working together to help people and providing for others helps us to be more selfless."

I nod my head. She certainly does know all the right answers. I just wish I knew if she actually believed it all for herself.

She attempts to lift a crate from the table to place it on the pile, but she must have packed it too heavy for her to lift. The crate begins to slip from her grasp and she squeals trying to steady herself and the box. I run up behind her and wrap my arms around her to grab the box. I don't think about what I'm doing, before I realize that I am pressed up against her and have my arms wrapped around her steadying this crate of food and placing it back on the table. The closeness of our bodies and the touch of her hand on mine sends shivers through my body. I never knew someone could make me feel like that.

I remove my hands from the crate and back away from her. I already miss the warmth of her body pressed against my chest. She fits perfectly into me, like she is my missing piece.

She looks at me bashfully and steps away from the crate so that I can lift it to the pile. She has a small smile on her face. I smile back.

"Maybe you should let me do most of the lifting from now on. The crates do get very heavy," I tell her.

She nods and smiles again.

We continue to work quietly until lunch.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own anything!

Chapter 5

Tris

I'm not sure what has happened here today. We all had to go to the sorting facility to sort food for the factionless. I ended up working with Tobias, which I really wasn't complaining about.

While we were working, he asked me a couple questions. Questions that reminded me that he is my instructor and that there is a reason that we are doing these jobs. Although I hate the volunteer work, I find that it is easier to tolerate with Tobias working next to me. No matter how hard he tries to hide his body, when he is moving and lifting heavy crates, it is hard not to see how well he is built.

I find myself caught up in watching him, and I don't pay attention to the box that I am filling or how heavy I have made it. I attempt to lift the box off of the table to add it to the pile, when I suddenly realize that I can't bear the weight of it. I let out a squeak as I attempt to steady the crate before it lands on me, crushing my leg or foot.

Suddenly from behind I feel strong arms wrap around me and grab a hold of the box. His chest is pressed up against my back and his arms are tight around me with his hands over mine steadying the box and lifting it back on to the table. Even once the box is securely on the table he remains with his arms wrapped around me and his hands on mine for a moment longer than necessary.

The feel of his body pressed against mine and the touch of his hands on mine sends electrical shock throughout my body. What is it about him that distracts me and causes me to forget where I am and what I am doing? He is not the only handsome boy I've ever seen before, but he is the only one that has made me have a complete disregard for everything else around me.

He steps away slowly and I already miss the feel of his body pressed against mine. I want to close the gap again. I want to feel him wrapped around me, completely engulfing me in his strong arms. I look up at him and smile bashfully and quickly look away. I'm sure he didn't feel what I felt. He was just being selfless and saving an initiate from being injured.

He smiles at me and says, "Maybe you should let me do most of the lifting from now on. The crates do get very heavy,"

I simply nod and smile at him again. I can't help but notice the concern in her deep blue eyes. His brow if furrowed and he looks worried.

After my close call, we silently work out a system where I fill the boxes and he removes them from the table and places them in the designated piles. We work well together, neither of us getting in the other's way and both of us doing our part to get the job done. By lunch what was to have taken us all day to accomplish is complete.

"Well, I guess after lunch we will work on what we would have done tomorrow," he says smiling.

I nod, "What will we do tomorrow then?"

"I will have to see what gets accomplished today, and possibly redistribute the responsibilities so that there is plenty of work to go around," he decides.

I smile, that means that we will still be with our partners tomorrow, regardless of the fact that he and I work faster than the others.

"Okay everyone, it is time for lunch. We will return here immediately following lunch and finish our duties."

Everyone nods and quietly exits toward the cafeteria.

We sit in the same manner as we did for dinner last night. I sat between Felicia and Susan. Felicia is beginning to look more like an Abnegation, but she is still much more curious than a normal Abnegation.

"Tris, what happened with you and Tobias? I looked over and at one point and he was standing behind you with his arms wrapped around you. It looked pretty intimate," Felicia asked blushing.

Susan looked shocked that Felicia was being so curious and boldly asking what happened. But I don't mind. This is the closest to a real conversation that I have ever had. I used to hear girls in the ladies room at school talking like this about boys, clothes, and other girl things. I always felt that I was missing out on some really good friendships because I wasn't supposed to ask questions, I wasn't supposed to talk about myself, and I wasn't supposed to be curious. But how do you really get to know someone if you don't talk about yourselves or you don't ask questions?

I smile at Felicia, "Nothing happened. I wasn't paying attention and packed a box to heavily. When I tried to lift it, it, it was too heavy and it started to slip from my grasp. Tobias just came up behind me to grab the box before it crushed me."

"Oh, I'm so relieved that you were not injured, Beatrice," Susan says.

"Tris can I ask you another question?" Felicia looks bashfully at me. "What was it like? I mean Tobias is very handsome and he looks very strong. I would probably melt if he did that to me."

For some reason, this comment angers me. She needs to back off, but I realize that I have no real claim to him. He is our instructor and he is older. What would he see in a tiny plain girl like me? "I don't know Felicia. He is apparently very strong. He was able to steady the box and me at the same time."

As much as I want to continue and feed into the girl talk, I realize that it is inappropriate and it is something that I could get into trouble for. As much as I don't want to be in Abnegation, as much as I would have liked to choose Dauntless so I could be free to think, talk and act the way I want, I chose Abnegation. I must behave appropriately.

I don't say any more and Felicia doesn't press the issue. I sit quietly with my head down thinking about Tobias and his body pressed against mine and it brings a smile to my face. Suddenly I feel eyes staring at me and I allow my eyes to drift up to find them. It is Tobias. He has a smirk on his face as he looks at me smiling to myself. It is almost like he can read my thoughts and he knows why I was smiling. I drop my eyes back to my plate and feel the heat rise in my cheeks. His eyes stay on me for a moment longer, and then he stands.

"We will continue with our afternoon the way we began our morning. Everyone go and continue your work in the sorting center, Beatrice please assist me with the dishes in the kitchen."

Everyone stand and Felicia flashes a knowing smile in my direction. I'm not sure what she is hinting at, but I am sure that Tobias just knows that I am competent and will be able to get the dishes done in a timely manner.

We enter the kitchen and begin stacking the dishes in the industrial sized dishwasher. The dishes slide through the washing cycle as we wipe down the tables and counters and put everything away. A few times while we wipe off the counters in the kitchen, our hands brush each other, sending a warm tingling feeling through my body.

Once the dishes are done, we dry them and put them away. I am aware that we are very close to each other and several times we grab for the same dish. I look at him and shyly smile when I move my hand away from the dish and reach for another.

On one occasion he reaches for the same dish as I do and he grasps my hand instead of the dish. He takes my hand in his and looks at me for a moment. He smiles then releases it before taking the last dish and putting it away.

My heart flutters at his touch and the fact that he chose to hold my hand in his, engulfing my small hand in his. My heart is pounding so hard I am positive that he can hear it. I smile at him, wanting more than ever to have him to use his body to surround mine in an embrace.

He smiles at me and says, "It is probably time for us to head back to the sorting center to complete our task for today."

I nod and agree. But I can't help but wonder if he felt the same jolt as I did. And did he want to hold my hand or was it an accident that he held it longer than necessary? I can't help but wish that we were both in another faction so we could express our feelings more easily. It is impossible to know what someone is feeling when everything they do is supposed to be for selfless reasons. However, no matter how hard I try, I can find nothing selfless about holding hands.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own anything!

Chapter 6

Tobias

What am I going to do? I can't help my attraction to this girl, but it would inappropriate for be to act on it right now. I didn't mean to hold on to her hand earlier today, but when we touched I didn't want to let her go.

The rest of the day went off with no more incidences. We finished two days worth of sorting in one day. It is amazing how well we work together. We don't need explanations or directions from one another; we just are in tune with each other and what we are doing.

For tomorrow I will have to redistribute the goods so that we have more than the rest of the initiates. None of them managed to complete their tasks before dinner so Tris and I will take the remainder of what they each have today and about a fourth of what they are responsible for tomorrow. That should even us out well and provide me with another complete day of working side by side with her alone.

We make our way into the cafeteria to begin preparing dinner. Today it is supposed to be Tris and Michael's turn to make dinner. The rest of us prepare the dining area with plates, silverware, cups, and napkins. I go into the kitchen to check on their progress and Tris looks completely flustered while Michael is standing over the kitchen sink running his hand under cold water.

"He burnt himself when he tried to take a pan out of the oven without an oven mit," Tris explains with a tinge of disbelief in her voice.

I smirk and call Susan from the dining area. She enters the room expressionless, because she is a good Abnegation girl.

"Susan, could you please escort Michael to the infirmary, he burnt his hand and needs to have it looked at."

"Sure, come on Michael," she smiles.

I turn to Tris who is looking even more flustered now.

"I don't mean to complain, but how will I get this done without his help?" she asks.

"Don't worry, I'll stay and help you finish." Any excuse that I can find to be near her, I'll take it.

"Oh, no. This isn't supposed to be your job. You worked so hard today, I would hate to have you work anymore."

"Tris, it is my pleasure. Just tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it."

"Well, the potatoes need cleaned and..." She stops and smiles, "Did you just call me Tris? Usually you call me by my full name."

"Yes, I believe I did. Is that okay?" I ask.

"Yes, of course it is okay. I prefer Tris," she looks down and smiles then continues. "The chicken is in the oven, and the peas are in the pot on the stove. So all we really need to finish are the potatoes but they are the most time consuming."

"Well, how about I clean them and you wrap them for baking?" I ask returning her smile.

"Okay."

We begin to wash and prepare the baked potatoes in silence. But I don't want there to be this constant silence between us. I want to know about her.

"So Tris," I start, but she cuts me off.

"Tobias, do you think I could ask you a question?"

"Sure, I guess that would be fine," I smile at her.

"Do you like being in Abnegation?"

This question throws me. Do I answer truthfully and tell her I almost went to Dauntless or that I have considered leaving and becoming factionless? Or do I lie to her and gush about how much I love Abnegation? I don't want to lie to her. But I don't want to get far into my past right now either.

"Honestly Tris, I considered transferring to another faction. But at the last moment I decided to stay. I can't say that it was the best decision that I ever made."

She nods.

"Now it is my turn to ask a question," I say.

She looks at me expectantly then looks back down at the potato she is holding.

"Why did you stay? I thought for sure that you were going to go to Dauntless."

"My parents," she answers quickly. "I thought that Caleb was going to stay in Abnegation. He was always so perfect at being selfless, and I was always so bad at it. I thought he was perfect for Abnegation and that he would stay. But once he transferred to Erudite, I felt obligated to stay for my parents' sake."

She doesn't look up at me once the entire time she speaks. There is a longing for another life in her eyes.

I decide to be a little bold, "Well, I for one am glad you stayed."

She looks up at me completely shocked. He eyes wide and questioning. "Why would you be happy that I stayed?"

"You are selfless, compassionate, interesting, and intelligent. Why wouldn't I be happy that I have the opportunity to get to know you better?"

She bow her head almost sadly, "I'm not as good at all of those things as you seem to think."

"What do you mean? I've seen how you behave with the factionless, you will do anything for anyone, even if you don't know them. I remember seeing you help others at school with their work, and staying behind to help teachers even if it meant having to miss your bus home. You aren't that girl?"

She looks at me shyly, "You are pretty observant."

"Well, over the years I have come to be observant of the behaviors of others."

"Why would you observe me? I'm nothing special," she almost whispers without taking her eyes off of the potato that she is holding in her hand.

She doesn't realize how special she really is. She has a fire and a life in her that most girls don't have.

"Maybe I watched you because I like you," I say boldly. This behavior is very unlike Abnegation, but I'm not feeling very Abnegation right now.

She looks up at me in complete shock. She begins to speak but the words are lost.

Suddenly Felicia enters the kitchen, "We were just wondering if everything was okay in here."

"Oh yes, just fine," Tris says. "Dinner is just about done. Just these last two potatoes and we will be ready to serve."

"Okay," Felicia says and smiles at me. Oh boy, I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means.

We complete the rest of dinner without another word. I have declared my feelings for her, so I guess now we will see what happens next.

We enter the dining area and Michael has returned with Susan. He has bandages on both hands from where he burnt them. We eat dinner silently and return to the dorm to prepare for bed.

It isn't long before the sounds of breathing are slow and steady, indicating that they are all sleeping. It was a very long and exhausting day, so it's not long before I'm overcome by the rhythmic sounds and slowly fall asleep as well.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own anything!

Chapter 7

Tris

I didn't respond when he told me he has noticed me. I just didn't know what to say. I mean, what do you say when this guy you have notice for years acknowledges that he also noticed you? I really wish I had a real friend that I could talk to about this. I can't talk to Felicia because I can tell she also is attracted to Tobias, Susan is too Abnegation, and I really don't know the other two girls. This is one of those times that being from Abnegation is really stinks. Being selfless means never talking about yourself and never asking questions. How then are you supposed to have friends without talking about yourself so people can actually know you?

We spent the entire next day in the sorting center. Tobias and I finished all of the items that we were responsible for, then we went around and started taking from other people's piles to help them finish as well. We spent the day talking about nothing important, neither of us brought up the previous day's conversation.

This behavior continued until the following week. I found that with almost all of the volunteer work we've done, I was paired with Tobias. There was only one day that required us to work in teams of three, so I was with Susan and Felicia. It was actually nice to work with someone else for a day so that I could have time to think about him without him watching me. Sometimes when we are together, I can swear he can read my mind.

The days quickly turn to weeks and we are already at the end of week two of initiation. So far we have sorted food, loaded food onto trucks to be delivered to the other factions, passed out food and goods to the factionless, cleaned up the factionless sector of the city, helped in the home for the elderly, and volunteered in the hospital. Tomorrow we will return to the hospital where Tobias and I will be spending our day in the nursery helping to feed and change the new born babies. I think this will be my favorite job so far.

After dinner today, Tobias made an announcement.

"Next week, we are going to let you choose the volunteer work you will be doing. So I suggest you take your time and consider what would be the best place for you because although the mornings will be devoted to sorting food again, you will be spending every afternoon for the week at the place of your choice. Then for your final week of initiation, we will be putting you through simulations that test your selflessness."

How am I going to decide what I am going to do for an entire week? I have never been allowed to choose what I wanted to do before. I am really excited about this. Only two weeks left and we will become full members of Abnegation.

Following dinner we all retire to our dorm room to prepare for bed. Another problem with Abnegation is that most go to bed really early. At home, after we cleaned up dinner, we would all sit in the family room together, mother would knit clothes for the factionless, father would complete any work he needed to complete from the day, and Caleb and I would finish our homework. After that we would all retire to our rooms for bed. In my room I could stay up and gaze at the stars or do whatever I chose to do instead of sleep. It was the only time that I was ever able to do something because I wanted to.

But here, it is very difficult. Following dinner, there is no homework to be done and most of the volunteer work does not carry over to after dinner. So our time is spent in the dorm preparing for bed and sleeping.

I lie in my bunk, waiting for the tale tell signs that the other initiates and Tobias are sleeping. Tonight I want to go up to the roof and look at the stars again. I have not been up there since the first night because I have been too tired from all of the work that we've been doing. But tonight I'm looking forward to the fresh air and beauty of the stars.

It isn't long before the rhythmic sound of nine people sleeping lets me know that it should be safe to go. I sneak quietly out of the room and head to the stairwell that has roof access. I climb the stairs and make my way out onto the roof, being sure to leave the door open so I don't get locked out.

The night is beautiful, but cooler than I thought it would be. I wish I would have brought my blanket. The sky is clear, a perfect night for star gazing. After midnight all of the lights in the city turn off, and it is perfect for seeing every star possible. I sit on the roof quietly waiting for the lights to turn off, enjoying the sound of crickets and other sounds of nature. We aren't supposed to appreciate the beauty of nature, it is considered selfish to enjoy something. But I believe that nature is around us for us to enjoy. The sounds of the bugs and animals, the colors of the plants, and sky, are all beautiful. The changing of the season, each brings something new and beautiful to appreciate and enjoy.

As I sit alone on the roof shivering and waiting for all the city lights to die out, I think about what Tobias said to me last week. Maybe he watched me because he liked me, the comment seems very noncommittal, but was he just saying it that way to gauge my reaction. And of course we were interrupted and since then I have not known how to react. Do I bring it up again? Or do I pretend it never happened? I know how I feel, and I want him to know how I feel, but I just have not found the right time or place to tell him.

As the lights around the city finally blink off, I pull my knees up into my chest and hug them tight to me to try to keep warm. But this is what I have been waiting for. I look up and every star in the sky is visible. I can see constellations and other galaxies far from here.

I am so spellbound by what I see above, that I don't notice that someone has entered the roof. He sits down behind me, pulls me into his lap, and wraps me in a blanket that is big enough to surround both of us. His long muscular arms wrap around me with the blanket and suddenly I feel warm and safe here.

"How did you know I was up here?" I ask him.

"The first night we were here, you left the room before I was sleeping. When you didn't return I went to find you to make sure you were okay. I found you up here," Tobias tells me. "I figured you would be up here again."

We sit in silence for a while, both of us covered in the blanket and his arms wrapped tightly around me.

"Tobias, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"What faction do you wish you would have chosen?"

He pauses for a few moments, "I wanted to go to Dauntless."

"And why didn't you go?"

"I was going to leave for all the wrong reasons."

"Are the articles true? What they say about your father?"

I can feel his body tense around me but his voice is soft, "You already know the answer to that question. I know you saw my back when I was changing on the first day."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"It is fine. But that is the reason that I didn't go to Dauntless, I felt that it would be an act of cowardice to run away from my troubles. That is not a very Dauntless action."

"Well, I for one am glad you didn't go to Dauntless." I say this smiling because it is what he said to me after I told him why I didn't transfer.

With that he pulls me tighter to him and I can feel his heart beat through his chest.

"What does that mean?" he asks with a smirk.

"Maybe I like you," I say boldly.

"I think you stole my line," he says with a chuckle.

"Maybe you like me?" I ask.

"Okay fine, I like you. You're beautiful, smart, selfless, and compassionate. What's not to like?"

Beautiful? He thinks I'm beautiful? I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

"And maybe you like me?" he asks with the same chuckle.

I don't answer. I turn my body so I can look at him. He pulls me tighter and all I want to do is kiss him.

"Be brave Tris," he whispers.

And he leans in and kisses me, soft and tender at first, then with more passion and desire. We both pull away to breathe at the same time. I lay my head on his shoulder and he pulls my hair away from my shoulder and he glides his finger tips along my neck, sending chills through me.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to tell you that I like you too. I've liked you for years, but never believed you would ever notice me."

"It's hard not to notice the most beautiful girl in Abnegation."

I smile and close my eyes. I've never felt more comfortable and safe in my life. I could stay wrapped up in his arms forever.

"We should probably go back down to bed Tris, before we both fall asleep up here."

"Okay," I say and begin to stand, but he pulls me back into him. He gently presses his lips to mine again then moves his arms, one around my back and the other under my knees. He stands with me in his arms and carries me to the door of the dorm. He places me down and tells me to go in first and he will follow in a few minutes. I nod and stand on my tip toes to kiss him again.

I enter the room and retire to my bunk, already missing the feel of his body against mine. A couple minutes later he enters the room and lies down on his bunk. Soon I drift off to sleep and dream about him.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own anything!

Chapter 8

Tobias

We were on the roof until two in the morning. I held her tightly in my arms as we talked, kissed, and got to know each other. We talked about our families, I told her about Marcus. She told me why she stayed in Abnegation and about her parents and brother. After just two short hours, I know her better than I have ever known any other person, even people that I have known since childhood. She is faithful to her family, honest, and brave. Faithful and brave because she chose a life that she didn't want to please her family. Honest because she trusted me with some of her deepest thoughts about Abnegation, her life, her feelings. She allowed me into her life and her thoughts.

This is a new feeling for me. I have never trusted someone enough to let them into my world. I've always been guarded with my life and my secrets. But I let her in without even thinking about it. She knows almost everything about me and she didn't judge me or look at me like I am pathetic. I told her that I wanted to leave and join Dauntless, and she knows that I stayed because I felt that it would be cowardice to leave. There is only one secret about me that she doesn't know, but it is a dangerous secret that would put her like in peril if she knew. For now, that secret will have to be mine alone.

When I felt that she was starting to fall asleep in my arms, I told her it was time to go. She started to get up, but I just couldn't bear the thought of letting her go. I wanted to keep her in my arms. So I tightened my grip and stood with her in my arms. I carried her down to the dorm room and let her go in first. She reached up to me and kissed gently before entering the room.

I walked to the bathroom to clear my head. What is it about this girl that makes me want to share everything with her? I stand there for several moments, just thinking about the past couple hours and how happy that I am. For the first time in my life I feel happiness, contentment, and possibly even love. I've never known real love before, only pain and torture. I really think I could easily fall in love with her. Right now I just know that I want to spend as much time with her as I possibly can.

Tomorrow, the initiates' parents come for visiting day, so they don't have much to do for the morning except prepare breakfast and clean up after. I will make sure that she and I are the ones to do the cleanup so I can spend some time with her. After the parents leave and lunch is done, we will return to the hospital where she and I will be in the nursery until dinner.

XXX

Today is visiting day. The day that parents come to see the Abnegation initiates. All of the Abnegation parents will come to see their children. But most times parents of transfer initiates don't visit.

I hate the idea of visiting day. When I did my own choosing, I thought that even though I stayed in Abnegation, I would at least have to have little to do with Marcus. But he still seems to come around on visiting day. I have no desire for Marcus to come here and pretend to be the perfect father. He always has on his perfect mask while he is among the community. Behind closed doors he is a monster, abusive both physically and mentally. As a child he always made me believe that I could never good enough. I was never selfless enough, smart enough, or kind enough. After my mother died, he would find reasons daily to whip me or lock me in a closet. He would tell me how horrible I was and that I was the reason that my mother died. He would tell me that she died so that she could get away from me. And the whippings were always for my own good. He would tell me he was going to whip me until was selfless enough, smart enough, and kind enough, and he did.

At first, after my mother died, the beatings would come once or twice a week. As I got older, they became more frequent, once or twice a day. I began to volunteer more at the sorting plant so that I could spend my time lifting boxes and crates of food to get stronger. I would spend hours loading and unloading trucks and moving around boxes full of can goods and other foods. I quickly became stronger and my muscles more defined. But, despite my new found physical strength, I was never courageous enough to stand up to him to stop the abuse.

Today he will find me and he will play the part of the dutiful father. I will tolerate his snide comments and listen to him tell me about how I can never seem to do anything right. He will probably tell me that I am ruining the initiates and not training the properly.

XXX

We all make our way to the cafeteria, and I find myself stealing glances at Tris as much as I possibly can. Every now and again our eyes meet and she quickly smiles and looks away bashfully. We eat our breakfast quickly and she and I say behind to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen.

"Will you be okay today?" she asks me.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I wasn't sure that seeing your fa… Marcus would be something that you would want."

"I'll be fine. Enjoy your day with your parents," I tell her.

She smiles and we continue to talk about nothing important while we finish putting the dishes away. Before she runs off to the gathering room to meet her parents, she moves in close to me. I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her lightly on the lips.

"Why don't you come and see my parents? Not as my, um… you know. Just as my instructor," she looks away.

I smile, "You go ahead, and I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay." She smiles and walks out of the kitchen toward the gathering room where the parents will be waiting.

I sit there for a moment longer and realize, she was about to call me her boyfriend but she stopped herself. Is she my girlfriend? Is that the label that she has now? Is it that label that she wants? A smile creeps across my face. I have a girlfriend.

"Tobias," a deep voice says my name from across the room.

I look up and see my father standing in the doorway. He wears his normal scowl and ill-tempered attitude when he is near me.

"Can I help you with something father?"

"I would like to know what is going on here."

"Breakfast and cleaning up was going on here, what else would be going on in the kitchen?"

I turn toward the door that Tris exited a few moments ago to walk out of the kitchen.

"You know that is not what I'm talking about, Tobias. What were you doing alone with Andrew Prior's daughter?"

"We were cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast and doing the dishes, it was our turn." I don't bother to tell him that every time it is her turn, I make it mine also.

"I thought I saw her kiss you," he says.

"And why would she do that? I was putting a dish away and she turned and bumped into, that's all. Why would you care anyway?"

"You can just do better than her. She isn't the prettiest or most well liked girl in Abnegation. You can do better than her. How about that Amity transfer, she is quite beautiful."

"I am not going to have this conversation with you. I will talk to whoever I want." I'm not sure what has come over me, but the fact that he is insulting Tris is infuriating to me. For the first time in my life I am standing up to him and not just cowering when he speaks to me. Apparently he doesn't know how to handle this either, because he looks at me dumbfounded at first but then with rage building up under the surface.

"Now if you will excuse me father, I have to go the gathering room and check on my initiates." I turn and walk out of the room, but not before I hear the crack of his belt and feel its sting on my back. I turn to look at him, shocked. How dare he think that I am going to stand for this behavior any longer. I am furious, and for the first time I let him know it.

"That will be the last time you ever do that to me again. You will stay away from me from now on, because the next time you come near me I will make sure you regret it," I growl.

He stands there ready to take another swing, but I am faster and stronger than he is. I grab his wrist. "You will not hit me again, ever." I say in a low careful voice. He looks at me with both fury and fear behind his eyes. My heart is racing and my hands are shaking but for the first time in my life, I am standing up for myself. He will not tell me who to love or how to live my life. I will never again be the victim.

I leave the kitchen and move in to the gathering room where all of the initiates are visiting with their parents. It is good to see that they have all come to see them. Soon we will return to the cafeteria for lunch then to our afternoon volunteering. And for the first time in my life I feel like I am someone who is worthy.


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own anything!

Chapter 9

Tris

I go to the gathering room and immediately find my parents standing near the windows. They look exactly the same as they always have. My mother sees me enter the room and immediately she breaks into a smile as I walk forward to embrace her. My father smiles and nods in my direction. They are both obviously happy to see me and happy that I remained in Abnegation. I wonder if they would have come to see me if I had transferred.

"Beatrice, you look more mature. You have filled out a bit," my mother says.

"I have been working in the sorting center a lot lately. There is a lot of lifting and moving heavy boxes and crates around involved."

I look from my mother to father, "Will you be going to see Caleb later?"

"Unfortunately, Abnegation is not welcome in the Erudite compound. We will not be able to go see Caleb any time soon."

I think about Caleb waiting for parents to visit that will never come. Does he know that they are not permitted to visit him or will be believe that they don't care to visit? These thoughts make me sad for my brother.

My mother and I discuss the volunteer work that I have been doing and what I will be doing next week since it is my choice.

"I think I may stay in the sorting center for the entire week. There is a lot of work that needs done there and I think that would be the best place for me to help the most people." I don't tell her that I think that is where Tobias will want to stay and I just want to be where he is.

"I think that is a wise use of your time," my father tells me. "Making sure the food is distributed to all of the factions helps more people than you realize. Are you aware that the people that will be in the sorting center for the week will be given the opportunity to go to Amity to help harvest apples? Maybe that will be something that you can do on one of your days."

"That would be very nice," I say. "It would be nice to help the Amity with their harvest." But what I'm really thinking is about how nice it would be to get away from Abnegation and see one of the other factions.

My parents and I stand there for a while longer, but have very little to talk about. Although I lived with them for sixteen year, there is very little I know about them and seeing as it is wrong to be curious, I can't really ask questions.

I hear the door open behind me so I turn and see Tobias enter the room. He looks a bit upset and I can't help but wonder what has happened that caused him to look upset. Then I notice Marcus enter the room behind him. His father is a horrible man who has made Tobias' life difficult, and apparently even though Tobias no longer lives with his father, his father still seems to think he has a hold over him.

Tobias glances around the room and sees me standing with my parents and smiles slightly but does not approach us. Then I see Marcus coming over to speak with my father.

"Hello Andrew," he says to my father. He nods to my mother and smiles, "Nataile." Then he turns his attention to me and for an instant I see a look of disgust in his expression, but then he softens "And this must be Beatrice. How are you finding initiation?"

"Very helpful," I reply. "I have had the opportunity to help a lot of people."

"That is very nice," he says. He has a strange look in his eyes, "And how are you finding the instruction?"

My parents must not notice the strange look in his eyes, but I do and it scares me a little. I know he is talking specifically about Tobias, but I'm not sure what he is implying. Does he know something about the budding relationship between Tobias and me? But how could he?

"The instructor is very informative and helpful in guiding us during our volunteer work," I say.

He nods, clearly not satisfied with my response. I am certainly not going to give anything away about Tobias and me; it is no one's business but ours.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see that Tobias is still standing in the same place as he was. He looks angry and tense. He glares daggers toward Marcus but then turns his attention to his watch.

"Initiates, it is now time to prepare lunch. I need the two people that are responsible for preparing lunch today to say your goodbyes and go to the kitchen."

It is my turn to cook lunch, so I say goodbye to my parents and retire to the kitchen. I begin to prepare the normal boring lunch, I realize that I am alone. This is my first turn for lunch because someone else usually prepares it while we are out volunteering, so I am not sure who is supposed to be in here with me.

The door opens and I see Tobias there with a smirk on his face.

"Did you think you were on your own today?" he asks me.

"I don't know which of the initiates is supposed to be in here with me, I've been doing everything with you."

"Well, here I am, at your service. Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll get started."

I smile, I love that he has made it so most things that I do are with him. I don't think the other initiates have noticed, it just appears that they all have their partners and I'm stuck without one.

"Have you decided on where you want to do your volunteer time next week?" he asks me.

"Um… yeah, I think so. I think I want to stay at the sorting center all week. I like the physical work, and my father said one of the days we would probably be going to Amity to help harvest apples."

He smiles at me, "I was hoping you would say that. I have to stay and oversee the sorting center for the week. I have arranged to go to Amity for at least one of the afternoons; possibly two depending on how much gets done."

I smile. I chose the sorting center because I thought that is where he would prefer to stay. I didn't want to have to spend the whole week without seeing him. This provided me the best opportunity to spend time with him without being obvious. To the outside observer, I am just a normal Abnegation who is choosing the most physical and difficult work because I am selfless. They don't realize that selflessness is not my first instinct, self preservation is. I guess that is my Divergent nature.

My aptitude tester said I was Divergent, so I had aptitude for more than one faction. She advised that I remain in Abnegation because it would be safest, so here I am. But at least here I have Tobias. Although if each of us would have chosen differently, would we still have found each other? Would he still be attracted to me? I am not as pretty or alluring as the Dauntless girls that I used to see at school. I'm glad I will never know the answer to that question.

He looks at me strangely. I have been lost in thought and must have spaced out for a moment.

"You okay Tris?" he asks me.

"Yeah sure, I'm fine. Just thinking." I smile.

"About anything in particular? Me maybe?" he smirks. His eyes twinkle when he looks at me like that. It makes me weak at the knees.

"Maybe," I smile bashfully and look away.

"Oh really, and what exactly are you thinking about me? It couldn't possibly be my fantastic cooking abilities."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday, but not today," I say smiling.

"Well that isn't fair, I might just have to figure out a way to get it out of you," he says walking toward me.

When he is about two feet away from me, I see a figure enter the room, it is Marcus. He glares at us like he knows something is going on. Tobias continues to move in my direction, but then picks up a pot that is sitting right next to me to place on the stove.

"I came to see where you disappeared to Tobias. Isn't it the initiates' responsibility to prepare their own meals? Since when does the instructor have to help with the preparation of meals?" Marcus says.

"Since Beatrice was in here alone. She shouldn't have to prepare the entire meal herself and there was no one scheduled with her today," he says coldly. "Besides, it is my _job_ to help my initiates wherever help is needed."

"May I have a moment of your time son?" Marcus asks with mock politeness. It isn't so much a request as it is a demand.

"I think we said all there was needed to be said before entering the gathering room today. I don't believe that there is any more discussion necessary on any subject." Tobias' words are cold and calculated. It is at this moment that I can see how intimidating he can really be.

Tobias isn't a small man. He is about six feet four inches, very tall especially for Abnegation. His muscles are very well defined from working so much in the sorting center and doing whatever other physical labor he does. His size alone is very intimidating. Include his tendency to of short answers and the threatening glower that he has when he is angry, he is very intimidating indeed.

Marcus looks at him with a similar look in his eyes, but not nearly as intimidating as Tobias. Marcus walks toward where we are standing and I busy myself preparing the food. He grabs hold of my arm and yanks me away from the stove.

"This is what you want? This pathetic excuse for a girl?" Marcus growls.

"Release her arm now," Tobias snarls at almost a whisper. His words are hard and deliberate.

I try to wrench my arm out of Marcus' grasp, but he doesn't budge. Tobias approaches him with a murderous look in his eyes. There is no fear there anymore, only rage. Marcus must see this in his son's eyes, and he releases me.

"Tobias, you will regret going against me," Marcus tells him.

"No, it is you who will regret everything you have ever done to me. If you ever come near me or Tris again, I will make you sorry for everything you have ever done to me. Do you understand?"

Marcus doesn't respond. He retreats out of the room.

After a moment, Tobias looks at me in amazement. He pulls me into his arms and I can feel his body trembling.

"That was the first time that I ever had the courage to stand up to him. And it is all because of you. You gave me the courage to face him."

"Thank you for not letting him hurt me," I say. I wrap my arms around his waist and kiss the hollow on his neck.

He moves one of his hands from my waist and places it on my cheek, tilting my face to look at him. He presses his lips to mine gently and releases me.

"We better finish dinner, before people start to wonder what is going on in here," he smiles at me.

We complete lunch just in time for the other initiates to enter the cafeteria. And for the first time, Tobias seems lighter, happy.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own anything!

Chapter 10

Tobias

"That was the first time that I ever had the courage to stand up to him. And it is all because of you. You gave me the courage to face him."

"Thank you for not letting him hurt me," she says. She wraps her arms around my waist and kisses the hollow of my neck.

I place my hand on her cheek, tilting her face to look at me. I press my lips to hers gently. She needs to know how important this was to me. I was finally able to stand up to Marcus. For the first time in my life I stood up to him, not because he was harming me, but because he was harming her. There is no way I would ever let anyone harm her. I look at her and smile, "We better finish lunch, before people start to wonder what is going on in here."

She smiles and nods at me. We complete lunch and serve all of the initiates.

XXX

After lunch I took the initiates to their afternoon volunteering session at the hospital. "So today is the last volunteering you will have that is not your choice. Starting tomorrow, you will have a choice of where you go. I have decided instead of everyone being in the sorting center for the mornings and then moving on to your place of choice, you can choose to go to wherever you choose for the entire day. Just keep in mind that you will be spending the entire day there for the entire week. Tonight after dinner I expect you to provide me with your choices. Also you do not have to go to the same place as your partner. But I would prefer no more than two people at each facility. Today your assignments are as follows, Susan and Felicia you are in the labor and delivery ward, Michael and Brian you are in the emergency room, Mary and Sally you are in the operating room, Anthony and Matthew you are in radiology, and Tris and I will be in the nursery. Are there any questions before we begin?"

No one raises their hands, they look expectantly. I attempted to place the pairs in areas of the hospital that I thought they may actually enjoy. I know that Abnegation aren't supposed to do things because they enjoy it, but who wants to spend every moment of every day doing things that they hate.

"Okay, since there are no questions go to your assigned areas. We will meet back at the cafeteria for dinner since everyone may not be done with their assignments at the same time. The two who are responsible for dinner should return to the initiate house around four in the afternoon, the rest should attempt to complete their tasks between then and five o'clock. When you get back, do not wait for others to eat since we don't know when everyone will be done. Stay with your partner while traveling and stay to yourselves as much as possible. We will meet at eight this evening to discuss where you will be going tomorrow."

With that I release the initiates to do their volunteer work. Tris, Susan, Felicia, and I take the elevator to the labor and delivery ward where our time will be spent today. Felicia stands right next to me in the elevator, a little closer than is socially acceptable. I see Tris scowl at her. Her reaction makes me smirk a little.

"So Tobias, where will you be spending the next week for volunteering?" asks Felicia.

"I am not part of your volunteer work, I am only coordinating it. I have to spend the week in the sorting facility updating the computer system to make the facility run more smoothly."

"Oh, so you won't be actually working with anyone at any of the sites?" she asks.

"I may have to help out some at the sorting facility once I'm finished with the computer systems, but that could take all week." I lie a little about the computer systems. Although I do have to update the computers, that will take me all of thirty minutes to complete. I'm better with computers than people would think, actually I know more about computers and how they work than many Erudite.

Felicia brushes my hand with hers, "I'd really like to spend some time with you one of these days." She smiles at me and bats her eyes.

Tris' face contorts with anger. She stares daggers at Felicia and I can see she is ready to pounce at any moment. I have to diffuse this situation before something happens and Tris hurts Felicia.

"Volunteering isn't about us it is about doing things for other people. If you are trying to use the hours as a means of getting to know me or someone else better, I may have to seriously question if you actually belong to Abnegation," I say to her, my voice quiet, calm and cold.

She crosses her arms and looks down. I'm sorry to have to crush her that way, but it is the truth. And although Tris and I are both using this time to spend together, we both know that we don't belong to Abnegation, at least not completely, and are both here for reasons beyond being selfless.

I can see Tris trying to control the smirk that is threatening to find her face. She looks from Felicia to me and back. She seems pleased with my answer.

We make it to our floor and go our separate ways, Susan and Felicia to the labor rooms and Tris and I to the nursery. She seems pretty excited about this volunteer opportunity. We spend our day feeding, changing, and caring for the babies in the room. It wasn't quite as fun as I thought it might be. There is a lot of sadness in a room like this. Babies in incubators that can't be touched because they are too small or there is a problem, babies that are on monitors because there is a possibility that they could stop breathing, and babies that just won't stop crying unless they are being held.

I have never been as tired as I was after today. Tris and I were together, but did not have any opportunity to talk because we were so busy. At about six o'clock in the afternoon we say our goodbyes to the babies and the nurses and slowly walk to the elevators. Susan and Felicia stopped by around four o'clock to see if we were ready to leave. It was their turn to make dinner so they had to return to the initiate house a little earlier than the rest of us. By now all of the initiates should have returned and have possibly be finished eating.

"Well what did you think of your time in the nursery?" I ask Tris.

"The babies are cute, but I really don't want to go back there again. The combination of happiness and sadness all at once is too exhausting to deal with on a regular basis," she tells me.

"How do you want to return to the house? We can walk, which will take about an hour or we could wait for the bus."

"We should take the bus, it is getting late and I am tired. Besides I don't want to walk through the factionless sector when it is starting to get dark," she says.

We leave the hospital just in time to catch the bus to take us back to the Abnegation sector. We sit together on the bus, too tired to talk. She leans her body into my arm and falls asleep with her head on my shoulder. I let her sleep until it is time to exit the bus.

"Tris, we are back," I say quietly while rubbing her arm gently.

"Okay," she says groggily.

We stand and exit the bus. When we arrive in the cafeteria, there are two plates of food waiting for us in the oven warming. Everyone else has eaten and gone about their business around the initiate house. We sit and eat alone. We will be meeting with the others in an hour for everyone to decide on where they will be going tomorrow.

XXX

"Okay everyone, I am going to call out your names and I want you to tell me where you would like to go for the week. You have the choice to return to any of the places that we have been in the past two weeks of initiation. Susan, let's start with you."

"I'd like to go back to the hospital," she says.

"Felicia, you're next."

"I will return to the daycare facility," says Felicia.

"Michael, how about you?"

"I would like to go to the elderly home."

"Brian, you are next."

"I would like to go to the hospital," he says.

Brian looks toward Susan and smiles. She returns the smile bashfully and looks away. It seems there may be a budding romance there.

Andrew chooses the daycare with Felicia, Matthew the factionless sector, Mary the elderly home, and Sally the factionless sector. It seems that either the initiates are pairing themselves off or that they have found people that they are comfortable with.

"Finally, Tris where will you be going next week." I ask as only a formality, I already know what her intentions are.

"I would like to go to the sorting center," she says.

"Okay, it seems that everyone has chosen. You will report to your chosen placements by eight in the morning. Everyone have a good night."


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own anything!

Chapter 11

Tris

We all retire to our dorm to prepare for bed. I go to the ladies room to shower and change to get ready for bed. I wear a tight grey shirt and grey sweatpants. I intend on going up to the roof tonight. Hopefully Tobias doesn't fall asleep before everyone else so he can meet me up there.

I lie in bed for about an hour and a half. It seems that everyone has fallen asleep so I make my way out of the dorm room. I stop off at the bathroom where I left a jacket and shoes and head out to the roof. When I get up there, Tobias is already there waiting for me.

"I was worried that I missed you or something," he said.

"I just stopped off to get my jacket and shoes that I hid in the bathroom."

"Good," he says. "I hid a blanket up here earlier this morning, just in case."

I smile. He has been thinking about spending time up here with me just like I've been thinking about it.

I think about everything that happened today and can't help but wonder if this is what is best for Tobias. His father obviously has a problem with me.

"Tobias, are you sure you want to continue this… whatever this is? Your father didn't seem too happy about this and I don't want to cause you any problems."

"Tris, _this_ is the only thing that has been keeping me going lately. _This_ is the only reason that I was able to stand up to him for the first time today."

"But, what if he retaliates for you standing up to him?"

"Look Tris," he says turning around and lifting his T-shirt revealing his perfect body. My cheeks blush until I realize that he has fresh whip marks on his back. "He already hit me. But I still was able to find the courage in you to stand up to him. So_ this _is the best thing I have in my life."

"Oh Tobias, I'm so sorry." I feel tears forming in my eyes and I can't stop them from falling. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything," he says as he wraps me in the blanket and pulls me down with him. I sit facing him with my legs trailing off to the side.

"Can you tell me what is happening here? I mean, you work with me all of the time. You stood up for me to your father. You sit up here on the roof with me and we kiss and hold each other. I'm just not sure what we are doing here and what you are expecting."

"Tris, I don't expect anything from you. I like being around you. You make me happy when I am with you. As far as what is happening here, all I know is that I have very strong feelings for you. And that I want to spend every possible moment with you. I don't like it when we are apart and I hate when I have to say good night to you."

"Are you my boyfriend?"

"Is that what you want me to be? Because if it is, then I would certainly be interested in fulfilling that role," he says with a smirk.

I lean in and kiss him gently on the mouth. "I think I could love you," he says to me breathlessly.

I smile at him, "You _think_ you could love me?"

"Maybe I am already falling for you but I am afraid to scare you."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here and I'm yours if you want me."

He smiles at me and pulls me closer until I am straddling him. I wrap my arms around his neck and skim the back of his neck with my fingers then run them into his hair. I lean in close and kiss him gently. My body is vibrating. I can't believe how good he feels with his arms wrapped around me.

He sits up straighter and puts his hands on my waist. He pulls me in closer. We are kissing with an insatiable desire, I am almost not able to control myself. His hands find their way from my waist, and up the side of my body. He unzips my jacket a few inches and he pulls away from the kiss. He begins kissing from my lips then moves to my neck then collar bone. He slides his fingers gently down my spine to the small of my back under my jacket. Now I can feel the chills run up and down my body. He makes me feel so loved and desired. I never knew that someone could ever make me feel like I am important. Right now in the dark under the immensity of the clear night sky I feel like he is the center of my universe and I am the center of his.

We stay up until three in the morning sitting under the perfect night sky holding each other, kissing, and caressing. When we make our way back to the dorm room, he kisses me once more then enters first and I wait a few moments and head to my bed. As I walk past him, he reaches out his hand and grazes mine. I smile and lie down in my bed and think about this perfect night with the perfect guy.

XXX

I wake in the morning to Felicia shaking me.

"Tris, wake up," she says.

"Huh… What? What time is it?"

"It is seven in the morning."

"Why are you waking me up?" I ask.

"I want to know what is going on with you and Tobias."

"You know curiosity is not very Abnegation."

"Look Tris, I see the way he looks at you and the way you look at him. I also see how you two have done every volunteer session together. So I want to know what is going on. I want to know why he rejected me."

"Felicia, there is nothing going on that is any of your business. And even if it was, I wouldn't tell you anyway. You really should take a look at Andrew. You have been so focused on Tobias that you haven't noticed that Andrew obviously likes you. He is handsome, kind, and willing to do just about anything for you."

"Andrew, really? Which one is he?"

She is so hopeless, "He is the tall one, almost as tall as Tobias that has the light brown hair and hazel eyes."

"Him?" she asks pointing to his bunk. Andrew lays there sleeping peacefully.

"Yeah," I say. "He has been trying to talk to you since we arrived here. But every time he tries, you are trying to talk to Tobias or you are just not paying attention. I mean look, he is going to the daycare with you today. Do you really think he went there because he wanted to or because you were going there?"

"How are you so observant?" she asks me.

"I guess I just like to watch what is going on around me." And it is true. Being from Abnegation, many people don't take the time to get to know us. I am used to being a quiet observer on the edge of life, watching what is going on around me, secretly wishing for a different life.

"Do you really think he likes me?" Felicia asks almost desperate.

"Yes I do. Take today and get to know him. I'm sure you will be happy with what you see."

"Thanks Tris. You know, you could be a good friend."

"Thanks," is all I say.

She exits the room and I try to go back to sleep when suddenly Susan is sitting on the edge of my bed.

"I heard what you said to Felicia. Do you think that is why Brian is going to the hospital with me?" she looks terrified.

"Honestly Susan, yes I do. And you need to give him a chance. I know you had your heart set on Caleb, but he left and he isn't coming back. You need to give Brian a chance. He seems like a great guy."

"But I don't know how to talk to him. Caleb was easy; we talked about school and our families. We had known each other our whole lives."

"Well, talk about the volunteer work and let the conversation go from there. You will be fine. A cute boy likes you Susan, let him like you and relax a little."

Since when did I become Dr. Love? All I'm doing here is stating the obvious but these girls are oblivious. It's not like I know everything, but at least I'm not afraid to ask Tobias why he likes me or whatever else I'm thinking about.

Susan bends over and hugs me, something very out of the ordinary for an Abnegation born person. I look at her puzzled. "Thanks Tris. And I'm sorry for the hug, I just thought I'd give it a try seeing as Brian is from Amity and all. Did I do it right?"

"No problem, Susan. And yeah, I guess your hug was fine." I try to smile but I'm getting annoyed now. I just want to sleep a little longer and these girls won't let me.

"Go ahead and lie back down for fifteen minutes, I'll wake you when time is up."

"Thanks Susan." I roll over and close my eyes. Next thing I know, the room is silent and Tobias is rubbing my arm.

"Tris, you need to wake up. We have to be at the sorting center in twenty minutes."

"What happened to Susan? She said she would wake me ten minutes ago," I say quickly hopping out of bed and shuffling around for my clothes.

"I told her that I would take care of it. I noticed that she and Felicia had you up pretty early talking and I knew you would be tired."

I take a risk and lean in and kiss him lightly on the lips, "Thank you."

"With that kind of thank you, I should volunteer to wake you up every day," he says with a smirk.

"You wake me up like this every day and I might just get spoiled."

"Don't you know that is my goal in life is to spoil you and pamper you for the rest of your life?"

My heart begins to flutter, this boy just said that he wants to take care of me for the rest of my life. I feel the heat rush to my face and my heart is racing.

"Tobias?"

"Yes, Tris."

"I think I could fall in love with you," I say. He said something very similar to me last night.

He smiles broadly, "You _think_?"

I smile back and head out of the dorm to get ready for the day.


	12. Chapter 12

I don't own anything!

Chapter 12

Tobias

The past few days in the sorting center with Tris have been great. We work, we talk, we even kiss a little. We have been the only ones sorting food, so we have had a lot of time to really just be together with no interruptions. In the past few days I have learned that Tris is a lot stronger physically and emotionally than anyone would have ever imagined. I also learn that she is passionate about everything that she does, whether it is sorting food, her family, or even me.

We talk about our families and I tell her about Marcus, what I don't tell her about is my mother. As far as the Abnegation are concerned, my mother is dead. She supposedly died during child birth nine years ago. But in reality, I have just recently learned that she is alive and living factionless. She had an affair and became pregnant as a result. When Marcus found out that she was pregnant with another man's baby, he had the man exiled and beat my mother so horribly that she lost the baby. She disappeared several days later without a word. My father had told me that she went to have the baby but there were problems and they both died. I was never permitted to see the body, only the coffin at the funeral. After that the beatings that were once mild became almost unbearable. He would lock me in a closet for days with nothing, no food or water. It was only when I was on the brink of death from dehydration that he would let me out. These punishments were saved for holiday breaks from school and weekends. Marcus' perfect son never missed a day of school and no one ever knew what was hidden under the baggy layer of Abnegation clothes. I have been a prisoner to the disguise that was first created by Marcus. Even today he attempts to control me through abuse and fear.

I found out about Evelyn being alive when I was delivering food to the factionless about a month before the choosing ceremony. She approached me and asked me if I recognized her. At first I thought she had lost her mind, but I quickly found out that she knew more about me than anyone ever could. She explained who she was and why she was coming to me now. She wanted me to join her with the factionless. But I was furious with her. She left me with that monster and she could have saved me, but she didn't. I turned my back on her and she hasn't attempted to contact me again. But the conversation got me thinking about leaving Abnegation and entering the factionless ranks. I was horribly unhappy here. Being forever attached to the monster that haunts my nightmares is sometimes more than I can handle.

But then she stayed. I have known Tris since we were younger, but I never really noticed her until about a year ago. She was with her parents volunteering in the factionless sector handing out food. I was also there delivering the crates of food to be handed out. Most of the teenagers and kids that were helping were terrified of the factionless people, like they were going to harm them. But not Tris, she was pleasant and appeared very interested in what the factionless were telling her. I could see her bravery even then. She had no problem with walking into a situation that was unfamiliar and doing whatever she needed to do in order to do a good job. I'd seen her time and again over the past year at different Abnegation events but didn't have the opportunity to speak to her. It wasn't until the choosing ceremony that she really caught my attention. I'm not sure what drew my eyes to her, but there she was looking around the room. The only Abnegation person to show curiosity in her surrounds. She met my eyes and I was lost after that. It's amazing that you can go your whole life and never feel anything for anyone you meet then suddenly you feel an attraction for someone you barely know. Seeing her and getting to know her is like waking up from a nightmare and loving her is like coming alive again. She makes me want to be alive; she makes me want fight for my life. She saved me when she stayed here.

After only two weeks, I trust her with some of my most guarded secrets. I tell her about what happened after my mother's funeral and the progression of the beatings and starvation techniques. She is shocked to find out what I have gone through but she doesn't look at me in a pitying way. I see only concern and love when I look at her. I feel like for the first time I can breathe and live and love.

She shares her life with me. She tells me about her parents and brother. How she always felt like she had to stifle the real her. She could never be herself, never being able to express herself or her curiosity. She always had to be the doting daughter and sister. But she is loved by her parents and although she chose a life that she didn't ever want, she will make the best of her decision.

We have spent the week working side by side, picking apples in Amity, sorting crates in the sorting center, and talking. By the end of the week, I think there is nothing more about her that I could ever need to know. I know her mind and heart. I also have a feeling that there is more to her than meets the eye. Based on these conversations and my observations I am beginning to wonder if she is Divergent. She is extremely intelligent, she is brave, and she is selfless, three characteristics that don't usually go together in one person. I find myself even more intrigued with her than ever before. Could we really be this compatible? I was always afraid of my Divergence, but she seems to embrace every part of herself. She is not afraid to show me all of these sides of her.

I wonder if she senses that I am also Divergent. I told her that I work in the control room and that I am very good with computers, she knows that I considered going to Dauntless but didn't go because staying required more bravery, and that I also have selfless tendencies. This is another part of me that she will have to find out at another time. I am not ready to say the word out loud. Saying it out loud make it more real and feels dangerous.

On our last day in the sorting center, I find that I keep getting lost in thought about Tris. There has always been something about her that is noticeable, but now I can see her pure beauty. She is not flashy or exotic, she is pure and perfect. Everything about her exudes confidence and that makes her beautiful.

"Tobias… Hello?" she says waving her hand in front of my face when I'm lost in thought yet again. "Are you with me?"

"Um, what… Oh yeah, sorry. What's up?"

"I don't know, you tell me. You just completely spaced out for a minute. Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just lost in thought I guess." I smile because it would embarrass her to know that she is the reason that I am acting this way.

"Oh really? Anything important?"

"Incredibly important!" I smirk.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Well Miss Prior, I was actually thinking about how much I wanted to do this," I lean grab her by the waist and pull her tight to me. "And this," I whisper as I press my lips against her neck, then her ear, her cheek, and finally I find her lips. She wraps her hands around my neck and runs her fingers through my hair.

"Is that so, Mr. Eaton," she says quietly while she lures me in for another kiss. "Why are you spending so much time thinking about it instead of just doing it?" she asks bravely.

We stay in this position, holding each other and kissing, and then suddenly there is a voice behind us.

"Beatrice, what is going on here?" it is her mother. Tris turns around and her face is immediately red.

"Mother, um… I'm sorry."

"Beatrice, there is no reason to be sorry," her mother says. "However this may not be the best place for such activities. Such affection is best left in the privacy of one's home."

"Yes mam," Tris says.

"And Tobias, I thought you had more sense than to behave in this manner in public."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Prior." I say looking down. This is incredibly embarrassing.

"Would one of you like to explain to me what is going on between the two of you?"

"Mom, Tobias and I are seeing each other. He is my boyfriend."

"I would certainly hope so, with that kind of display going on. And how long?"

"Only about a week or so Mrs. Prior. I am sorry. I should have asked your permission before starting a relationship with Beatrice."

"Tobias, I think we both know that Beatrice is not the kind of person that asks for permission about such things. But I appreciate the thought."

She knows her daughter well and is very understanding.

"Am I to assume that when initiation is over you are intending on taking this relationship public?" she asks.

I look to Tris, she just smiles shyly and lowers her eyes. I guess it is my responsibility to answer this question.

"Yes mam, Mrs. Prior. I care very deeply for your daughter and would love to be able to make our relationship public knowledge. I am very proud that she has chosen to allow me into her life."

"That is very good to hear Tobias. I will not mention this to your father Beatrice, but I must ask that you handle yourselves with more self control while out in public. It would not due for him to walk in on his daughter wrapped in a man's arms kissing him in the middle of the sorting center."

"Okay mom, thank you," Tris says.

"Thank you, Mrs. Prior," I say.

"Tobias, if you are going to be spending time with my daughter, I think it would be best of you started calling me Natalie. I must tell you that I am very pleased with this match-up. I will do everything I can to smooth things over with your father, Beatrice. Initiation will be over in a week, so I expect you both to come to dinner the day after the ceremony."

We both agree.

"It seems you have been working hard this week. All of the food is sorted and ready to be delivered. You two work well together, I appreciate all of the work you have done here this week. I think you are done now. Please go, and enjoy the rest of your day somewhere a little more private."

She turns without another word and leaves the sorting center.

"Well Mr. Eaton, it seems that we have the rest of the day to ourselves. What would you like to do?"

It is a rare occasion that Abnegation are given permission to 'enjoy our day' however we see fit. I don't even know that there is any one thing that I would like to do, seeing as I have never really done anything just because I wanted to. Well other than be with Tris. I think about this for a moment and come up with an idea.

"Let's take a walk. There is something that I want to show you."


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own anything!

Chapter 13

Tris

We leave the sorting center and begin walking. I have no idea where we are going, all I know is that I get to spend the rest of the day with the man I love… Wait, did I really just think that? Do I love him? I love being with him. I love when he holds me and kisses me. I don't want to be without him. He makes me happy. He trusted me with his fears and his secrets and I trust him with everything in me. I trust him with my heart. My heart and all of me belong to him. I love him. But is it too soon to tell him? I don't know. But I want to tell him. I want him to know how I feel.

We walk through Abnegation to a neighborhood that I have never visited before. The houses look like the rest, just a bit smaller than the houses in my old neighborhood. We walk up to one of the houses, it doesn't look like anyone lives here, why would he bring me here?

"While I was working in the control room a couple days ago, I received a list of initiates and a list of houses. It was my job to assign each of the initiates a house for after initiation. This is going to be your house," he tells me.

"This, is my house? This is where I am going to live?"

"Come on, I have something else to show you," he takes my hand in his and we walk to another house that is next door. This house seems to be occupied by someone. They look exactly the same, there is a large yard separating the houses.

"This is my house," he says pulling out a set of keys and opening the door. "I hope you don't mind, but I placed you in the house that is right next door to mine. If you don't want that, I can always go back in and change it."

I look at him and smile brightly, "Don't you dare change anything!"

He smiles as we step into his house and he closes the door. There are three small rooms on the first floor, a kitchen, dining room, and living room. He gives me the tour, telling me that there are two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor but not taking me up there.

"Are you hungry? I can make us something to eat."

I nod and follow him in to the kitchen. There is a counter with stools to sit on near the stove. I sit down and he begins preparing lunch for us.

"Why don't you go ahead and take a look around more while I cook. Your house is set up exactly the same way, so you can decide where you want your bedroom and how you want things to look," he says.

"Okay," I say and kiss his cheek before I leave the room.

I walk up the stairs and look in each of the rooms. His bathroom is small and very masculine. I walk into the first bedroom, this room is clearly the extra bedroom; there is nothing in here that indicates that anyone lives in this space. Everything is grey and looks like standard Abnegation. I walk across the hall to what I assume to be his bedroom. The two bedrooms are exactly the same size and both have a dresser, bed, and night stand. But this bedroom has Tobias' personality. He has a black bedspread and sheets on his bed, very different from normal Abnegation and on his wall he has painted a saying, 'Fear God Alone'. The rest of the room is the same as the other with the dresser and night stand. In this room there is an alarm clock and a lamp on the night stand.

I walk over to the window and look out over the horizon. From here you can see the Navy Pier and the top of the Ferris wheel. It doesn't seem to be too far from here.

All of a sudden I am startled by hands on my waist and a light kiss on my neck. "Nice view isn't it? It is probably my favorite part about this room."

"What does 'Fear God Alone' mean?" I ask pointing to the words on the wall.

"It is a reminder to let go of my worries and fears, especially my fears of Marcus. It reminds me that I should fear no man," he explains.

I turn around and wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. "I love it," I tell him.

"Well, let's go back down stairs, our food is waiting."

We walk back down to the kitchen and sit at the counter and eat our lunch.

"I love that you showed me your house. I can't wait until initiation is over and I can live next door to you and see you whenever I want," I tell him.

We finish eating and move into the living room where there is a small radio and what he calls compact disks. He tells me that they are pretty old, but he really likes the music. He walks over to the radio and places a disk in and music begins to play. I love it. It is nothing like I have ever heard before, lots of drums and guitars and loud singing. I think this is the best music that I have ever heard. I look at the names on the disks and they are some pretty weird names, like the Foo Fighters, Metallica, and Bon Jovi. He turns the volume down so it is quiet enough for us to talk but we can still hear it and he takes my hand and leads me to the couch where we sit down.

He pulls me into his lap and we begin to kiss. My heart is racing and I feel like I am going to hyperventilate. I pull away from him and move from his lap to the couch. He looks at me confused and a little hurt.

"Is there something wrong?" he asks me.

Yes there is something wrong. I am terrified. I don't know what he is expecting here, I don't know what is happening and I am petrified. Petrified of what he wants and of what I want.

I shake my head and look down.

"Tris, don't tell me it's nothing. Something is obviously bothering you. Talk to me."

"I'm afraid," I whisper.

"Afraid of me?" he asks looking miserable. "Tris, what have I done to make you afraid of me?"

"It isn't you, Tobias. I'm afraid of what can happen here. Us alone, in your house."

"Tris, nothing is going to happen here unless we are in agreement that we want it to happen."

"What if I want it to happen," I say almost inaudibly.

"Honestly, Tris. I don't think that I am quite ready for that. Someday I may be, but today is not that day."

I stand up and move in front of him. He sits up straight and I lean in an kiss him. I decide to be brave and I straddle his lap and press my lips to his. The kiss is soft at first, like every other kiss we have shared. Soon the kiss becomes more enthusiastic and passionate, deeper and more full of want and desire than ever before. I wrap my arms around his neck and put my fingers through his hair. He reaches his hands around my back and pulls me closer to him. His hands glide under the hem of my shirt and he glides his finger tips up my bare spine. He grasps my shoulders from under my shirt and pulls me tighter to him. I pull away from the kiss and look into his eyes and smile at him. Then he begins to kiss my neck, jaw, and runs one of his hands back down my spine. He places his hand on my cheek and then pulls my lips back to his. His other hand slides down my spine to the small of my back and I shiver at his touch.

He pulls back from me and looks into my eyes. He smiles and stands with me still straddling him. He sits me back down on the couch gently and kisses my forehead. He moves and sits back down next to me and lean back into the corner of the couch. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me toward him. I lean into him and lay my head on his chest. We are so comfortable in this moment that we both manage to doze off for a while. I wake up a short while later and feel happier and more content than I ever have before.

Maybe I can make a good life out of Abnegation, so long as that life involves Tobias.


	14. Chapter 14

I don't own anything!

Chapter 14

Tobias

I wake with her still in my arms. She is awake but still lying on my chest. She has a smile on her face, probably the most beautiful smile that I have ever seen. She looks content and happy and it makes me happy to know that I am the reason for the look on her face right now. I love that I can make this girl so happy. She looks up at me when she feels me stir.

"Hey there," she says.

"Hey there yourself," I say pressing my lips to her forehead. "What time is it?"

She looks at her watch, "It is almost four o'clock."

"We should get back to the initiate house. It will be dinner time soon."

"Do we have to? I just want to stay here longer. You know, I've been listening to that music for a little while now, I really like that Bon Jovi band, they are pretty good."

"That music is very old, but I like it too."

"Do we have to leave now?" she asks.

"We could probably stay a little while longer, but not much. People will wonder where we are and I don't want to upset your mother if she finds out. Would you like some water?" I ask as sit up.

"No thank you, I think I'm going to go the bathroom and freshen up a bit. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," I stand and pull her up with me. I kiss her on the cheek and she turns and walks up the steps.

I go into the kitchen and get myself a glass of water. I can't wipe the grin off of my face. I have never been this happy before and I know that I am completely head over heels in love with this girl. But can I tell her? Is it too soon? I don't want to scare her away, but I want her to know how I feel.

I look out the kitchen window and see the top of the Ferris wheel from here. I always loved visiting the Navy Pier when I was younger. It was a great way to escape from Marcus for a while. I used to sit at the bottom of the Ferris wheel and look up at it. I wish I had the courage to climb it, but I never did. Maybe someday I'll take Tris there. She would probably love the pier.

I hear her coming down the steps and my jaw drops on the floor. She looks absolutely radiant and all she did was take her hair out of her normal bun. Her beautiful blond hair flows over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. I can't help myself; I go over to her and run my fingers through her hair while I kiss her. She wraps her arms around my waist and I deepen the kiss. I glide my tongue across her lower lip asking for entrance. She obliges and our tongues meet. There is more passion and desire in this kiss than any other kiss that we have shared.

She pulls away from the kiss and looks into my eyes. "You know, I could stay here forever. I love being here with you."

"I love being here with you too. I want nothing more than to stay here with you, but for now we can't. For now we have to finish your initiation. Soon it will be over and we can begin our lives, together, if that is what you want."

She smiles and stands up on her tip toes and kisses me on the cheek.

I place my forehead to hers, "I hate to say this, but we should go."

She nods and releases my waist. She runs her fingers through her beautiful hair and places it back into the standard Abnegation bun. I take her hand and we walk toward the front door making sure all of the lights and the music is turned off before we exit the house.

We walk back toward the initiate house in silence. We don't need to talk all of the time, we are just happy being together. We enter the house and some of the other initiates are preparing dinner while the rest are setting the table. They all look happy like they are enjoying each other's company. I walk into the kitchen to see if the people that are cooking need any help and walk in on Brian and Susan holding hands as they wait for the timer on the oven to go off indicating that the chicken is done cooking. They don't even notice me enter, so I slowly back out of the kitchen trying not to disturb them. The thought of Brian and Susan makes me happy; I knew he liked her from the way he has been looking at her for the past two weeks.

Once dinner is done and served, we all sit together and eat. Once dinner is done I make an announcement.

"Tomorrow we will all be going to Amity to help with the harvest. We will be leaving following breakfast and won't be returning until dinner time. The Amity have graciously offered to prepare lunch for us while we are there. Please be ready and on the bus before nine in the morning, we will be leaving promptly by nine. We will again need to work in partner groups, so know who your partner is by morning. The Amity will advise us of our assigned work areas upon our arrival. Lastly, I thought it would be nice to share our work experiences this week since this is the first day we have all had the opportunity to eat together this week. Would anyone like to start?"

"Andy and I were at the daycare this week. I had so much fun playing with the little kids, it almost didn't feel like work to me," Felicia says.

"I actually had fun too," says Andrew smiling at Felicia. Another love connection I wonder. "I got thrown up on and peed on once or twice, but it was great how the kids were so happy to see us and spend time with us."

"The factionless sector was kind of depressing," says Matthew. "Sally and I passed out food and clothing to the factionless and spent two whole days cleaning up some of the areas alongside them. Most are really great people but they have so little that it is just sad."

Sally nods, "We met a boy there with an eye patch, and he was the same age as us. He told us that he was ranked first in the Dauntless initiation and some other boy stabbed him in the eye with a butter knife while he was sleeping. He decided to drop out of initiation and became factionless."

I wonder if I would have made it though Dauntless initiation or if I would have failed so miserably that I would have become factionless too. Guess I'll never know.

"Michael and I were at the elderly home, I learned so much from talking with and listening to the stories that they told. They are all so full of so much interesting information," Mary says.

Michael nods and doesn't add anything to Mary's comment.

"Susan and I spent the week at the hospital. We spent one day in each department. My favorite was the nursery. What was your favorite Susan?" Brian asks.

"I loved the nursery," she smiles bashfully. "The babies were so wonderful."

Brian smiles at her and you can see that they share a bond beyond friendship. There is definitely something there.

"Tobias and I were in the sorting center for most of the week. We spent one day helping to harvest apples in Amity, but the rest of the week we spent sorting food and clothing in the sorting center. It was a lot of hard work, but we managed to get everything sorted and loaded on trucks to be delivered all over the city."

"Thank you all for sharing. I hope that you found worth in the work that you were doing. Volunteering is helps us to live for other people and to give back to our city. Volunteering also helps us to become more selfless. We strive to forget ourselves and serve others through the work that we do and our actions. I believe that you all are finding your way quite well here in Abnegation. Our role is important. I want to remind you all of the Abnegation Manifesto:

'I will be my undoing if I become my obsession.

I will forget the ones I love if I do not serve them.

I will war with others if I refuse to see them.

Therefore I choose to turn away from my reflection,

To rely not on myself

But on my brothers and sisters,

To project always outward

Until I disappear.'

These are the words that we live by, and this is the reason that we live our lives in service of others. That does not mean that we do not strive to find our way in the world and look for connections in family and friends. Through our connections with family, friends, and eventually spouses, we find more reasons to be selfless and project outward as opposed to inward."

They all look at me and nod. I want to encourage the connections that some of them have apparently made my helping them to realize that those connections are important and worth working for.

"One last thing, I would like you to discuss your partnerships for tomorrow and let me know who you will be working with at breakfast tomorrow. You may go about the rest of your evening."

We all clear our plates from the table and Felicia and Andrew go to the kitchen to clean up. I make my way to the dorm room behind the initiates.

I retrieve my sweat pants and a T-shirt and go to the men's room before anyone else for a shower. I try to avoid any of them seeing the scars on my back so I am sure to get out of the shower and dressed before the rest of the boys enter the room and prepare for bed.

I walk back into the dorm room and Tris is in there alone, her back is to me as she brushes out her long wet hair. She has on a tight grey T-shirt and grey stretch pants. Her clothes are form fitting and show off her tiny figure. Her body is perfect, every part of her small frame perfectly proportioned. She has built muscle in her legs and arms over the past couple of weeks working in the sorting center. She turns slightly and has her arms above her head while she is braiding her hair. I can see a small sliver of her stomach and my heart races. I am suddenly full of desire. I want to pull her to me and caress her, getting to know every inch of her perfect body.

I turn and sit on my bed with my back toward her to try to calm myself. I have to control these urges. I can't let them over power me until we are both ready to give ourselves over to each other fully.

I lie in bed happier than I have ever been. I think about sleeping this afternoon with her wrapped in my arms, feeling her breath on my chest and her heart beat in against me. I lie awake for a while to make sure she isn't heading up to the roof, but I soon realize that she has fallen asleep and I drift off to thoughts of our perfect day.


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own anything!

Chapter 15

Tris

Today we will be going to Amity to help the harvest. I am really excited to be able to get out of Abnegation for a while.

We all wake and go to the dining room to prepare and eat breakfast. Today it is Tobias and my turn to prepare breakfast.

We decide to make it a little different today, instead of oatmeal, we make everyone scrambled eggs. The change seems to please everyone. After twenty four days of oatmeal, the change is welcome.

"Okay, we have about fifteen minutes before the bus leaves for Amity. Has everyone decided on their partners?" Tobias asks.

"Susan and I will be working together," Brian speaks up first.

"Andrew and I will be working together," Felicia says.

Obviously there is something going on there and I couldn't be happier. At least I don't have to worry about Felicia trying to flirt with Tobias anymore. And I am so happy for Susan, she was heartbroken after Caleb went to Erudite. I'm happy that she has found someone else and he seems to be good for her. He brings her out of her shell a little.

"Michael and I will be partnering up today," Matthew says.

"Sally and I will be together again as well," Mary declares.

I guess there were no love connections there.

"So that leave Tris and I as partners again," Tobias says. "Please gather your belongings and meet at the bus in ten minutes."

We clean up our breakfast, everyone chipping in today to clean up the kitchen in the fastest way possible. We gather our things and go out to the bus as a group.

The bus ride takes about an hour from Abnegation, but the ride is interesting. Brian and Felicia tell us what it is like living in Amity.

"When I was fifteen I got into a disagreement with one of the boys my age. I couldn't stand how self-righteous he was being, so I told him he needed to step back and look at his own attitude instead of worrying about everyone else. He said something that angered me so I knocked him over as I was walking away from him. When he reported me, they injected me with peace serum. I acted crazy for hours. I knew what I was doing but I couldn't control myself. So my advice is to not talk to any Amity if you can avoid it, because if there is a confrontation, they will inject you with peace serum," Brian explains.

"Yeah," Felicia says. "Once my older sister had issue with someone and they did the same thing to her. It was hilarious for a while, because she was just too happy. I mean, no normal person is that happy. I kind of got really annoying after a while because there was just no reasoning with her."

"Do they do that often?" Mike asks a little worried.

"Only when there is confrontation," Brian clarifies. "It is agreed upon by all of Amity that the best way to deal with confrontation is to use the peace serum. The entire community also agreed upon lacing the bread with the serum to help people to be happier."

"Wait a minute," says Mary. "Are you saying that the people of Amity are always drugged if they eat the bread and everyone agrees on it and is okay with it?"

"Actually Mary that is exactly the way things work in Amity. There are no leaders, every member of the community has an equal voice in their government and in deciding how things get done. They meet and make decisions as a group. No one person has any more power to make decisions than any other. It is actually quite interesting how it works," Tobias explains.

"Yes, there is one person that is a representative of the faction," Felicia continues. "She has the power to make decisions that must be made at a moment's notice, but then she must call a meeting of the faction within a certain amount of time so that they can decide whether to continue with her decision, change the decision, or add stipulations."

I can't help but think no wonder the Amity are always happy, they are all drugged. I guess I never really believed that a group of people could possibly be that happy and peaceful all of the time. Even members Abnegation get a little vain sometimes. But to allow yourself to be in a perpetual state of being drugged just to maintain peace is a little over board.

"So for lunch it would probably be wise to avoid the bread," Susan says.

Brian, Felicia, and Tobias all nod at her. I see Brian place his hand on hers and she smiles. "Don't worry," he whispers to her. "I won't let anyone drug you."

I look at Tobias and smile, we are sitting right behind them, and so we hear the exchange. I am glad that she is getting over Caleb, it would have been wrong for her to mourn something that never even really had the chance to become much more than friendship. Brian already shows affection toward her in a way that Caleb never did. She deserves to be the center of someone's world, not just there because they happen to be neighbors.

After our long drive, we arrive at the gates leading to the Amity compound. There are Dauntless soldiers guarding the fence. One girl, one boy, both tattooed and pierced with guns slung over their back.

We exit the bus, we will need to walk to the compound from here.

Tobias approaches the gate.

"Name," the female guard says. She has blue and purple streaks through her blond hair. I wonder if I would have gotten tattooed, pierced, and colored my hair if I had gone to Dauntless.

"Tobias Eaton, I am the initiate trainer from Abnegation. We are scheduled to assist with the harvest." Tobias explains, he is confident and self-assured two things that attract me to him the most. Of course he is handsome, but he is self-confident and courageous. He doesn't allow much to intimidate him, even guards with guns.

I see one of the guards walk over to a control panel and type in a code. The gates open and they admit us into the compound. They gates close behind us and I realize something for the first time. The gate locks from the outside. We are not locking others out, someone is locking us in. The thought worries me a little, that means that in the worst of circumstances, we can't get out. We are trapped behind the fence. It also makes me wonder who is locking us in and why.


	16. Chapter 16

I don't own anything!

Chapter 16

Tobias

We begin our walk to the Amity compound. As the gates close, I see that Tris looks at the guards and the gate with apprehension. I walk over to her to make sure she is okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she says quietly so no one else can hear. "I'm just wondering why the gate is locked from the outside. We are locked in; we are not locking someone out like I had always believed."

I look at the fence with apprehension. This is something I realized a long time ago. This is the reason I took a job in the control room in Abnegation. Although Dauntless handles the security of the city, the Abnegation are the political leaders. It is my job to assist the Dauntless on security matters and report any breaches to the government officials. So I have access to security codes and footage from around the city.

"Yeah, I noticed that too," I tell her. "That is the reason that I chose to work in the control room. So if I need to, I can get out. Two things you should know about me Tris. The first is that I am profoundly suspicious of people in general. It is my nature to expect the worst of them. And the second is that I am unexpectedly good with computers."

She nods, "Good to know I'm not the only one who is a bit distrustful."

We continue walking toward on the dirt road that leads to the Amity compound. It is about a half mile walk from the gates to the main building where we will meet the Johanna, the spokes person for Amity.

As we walk through the orchard, a girl comes running up to us squealing, "Felicia, is that you?" The girl lunges at Felicia and wraps her in a hug.

Felicia looks a bit flustered at the sudden affection. The girl steps back and Felicia nods in a polite manner to the girl.

"Felicia, I can't believe it is you. I have missed you so much!" the girl exclaims.

I look closely at the girl and realize that she looks very much like Felicia. The same brown flowing hair, the same dark brown eyes and tan skin. They must be sisters.

Felicia turns to the rest of us, "This is my younger sister Farah." We all nod in acknowledgment.

"What are you doing here? Do mom and dad know you are here?" Farah squeals with excitement.

"We are here to help with the harvest today. No, mom and dad don't know I'm here. But you can tell them. We will be eating lunch here today maybe you all can eat lunch with me."

Felicia turns her attention to me as if she is asking if this would be okay. I nod letting her know that would be fine. We do believe, like every other faction, in the credo faction before blood. But the Abnegation don't dwell on it quite as strictly as the other factions do. We don't see love for your family as a downfall, we see it as another means of selflessness. If you are thinking about others, you are not thinking about yourself.

Farah squeals again, hugs her sister, and runs off toward the compound, probably to tell her parents about Felicia's presence here today.

We continue to the building that is Johanna's office. I knock on the door.

"Please enter," a voice says from within. "Tobias, good to see you." She approaches me and nods. Johanna has always been very aware of the customs of the other factions, she respects our reluctance to touch.

I nod in return, "Hello Johanna, it is good to see you also. We have five pairs here today ready to work."

"Very good," she smiles. "Well let's see. We have the orchard that would probably need two pairs, the greenhouse will need one pair, and the corn field will need the last two pairs."

"Okay," I say. "Who wants to go to the corn field?"

"We will go there," says Mike and Matthew together.

"We will too," says Felicia, Andrew nods.

"Who will go to the greenhouse?"

"Can we go there?" asks Sally.

"Sure," I say. "And that leaves Brian, Susan, Tris, and I in the orchard."

"That is wonderful," Johanna says. "Lunch is served at noon, please don't be late. We wouldn't want you to miss it."

We all nod and go our separate ways.

XXX

The orchard is a huge space so the four of us split up. It was decided that the girls would climb the trees to pick the fruit since they are both smaller and Brian and I would stand beneath them to make sure they don't fall and to catch the fruit that they pick. Brian and Susan go toward the pear trees, while Tris and I head to the apple trees. As we are walking between the rows of trees a male voice shouts out behind us.

"Beatrice? Is that really you?"

She turns as this boy runs up to her and wraps her in an embrace. Seeing this boy wrap his arms around her, angers me. I get a boiling sensation through my body and I can't. I have never felt fury build in me like this before. I can feel myself glaring daggers at this boy for putting his hands on her.

She stands stiffly and when he pulls away, she smiles at him, "Hello Robert, how have you been."

"I'm great! What are you doing here?"

"We are here to help with the harvest. Susan is here also," Tris says.

He grabs her hand, "It is great to see you. I can't believe you are here. How have you been?"

"I'm well, just working through initiation," she smiles and gently pulls her hand away from his. "Robert, this is Tobias. He is my instructor."

She turns to me, "Tobias this is Robert Black, Susan's brother."

I nod. Well that explains how she knows this boy. But it doesn't explain why he keeps trying to touch her. I continue to glare at him and he recoils a bit from her.

"Susan is over where the pear trees are, I'm sure she would love to be able to see you again," Tris says politely.

"Okay," he says. He seems a bit put off by Tris' behavior. She is behaving just as an Abnegation should. "Well it was great to see you, Beatrice. Maybe I'll see you later on today."

She smiles and nods as he turns to leave. We continue to further into the apple orchard.

"And how do you know Robert so well?" I ask, the jealousy still boiling in my veins.

"Susan and Robert were our neighbors," she explains. "We spent a lot of time together. I guess it was once implied that when we grew up, if we had all stayed in Abnegation, Caleb would have married Susan, and I, Robert."

The thought of her marrying anyone but me infuriates me more. I never imagined her with anyone else other than me. And the fact that this boy was obviously attracted to her makes it almost impossible to ignore the jealousy turning my blood cold.

She takes my hand, obviously reading my emotions. "You have nothing to worry about. Robert was never anything but a friend. There was always more there between Caleb and Susan, but with Robert and I there was ever only friendship." She stands on her tiptoes, reaches her hands around my neck and pulls me down to her to place a gentle kiss on my lips.

I smile at her, my heart melting at her touch. "I am yours Tobias, no one else's. I promise," she whispers, her lips gliding against mine as she speaks.

We walk farther into the orchard and she picks a tree to climb to begin our work for the day.

XXX

When it is finally time to leave for the day, we are all exhausted. At six o'clock in the evening, we board the bus to head back to the Abnegation compound. We will arrive back at the initiate house at around seven. I had to arrange for someone to come and prepare dinner for us today since I knew we wouldn't return until late in the evening.

On our ride home, I am sitting with Tris in one of the seats. We are all quiet, too worn out from our day to talk. Soon I feel her head on my shoulder and the steady breaths of a sleeping girl. I can't help but feel that my horrible jealousy was ridiculous. But I couldn't control myself. Seeing another guy put his hands on her sent a rage through me that I didn't even know I was capable of.

When we arrive back at the house, I gently wake Tris so we can go in and eat. It seems that Brian has to do the same with Susan because she is also slumped on his shoulder sleeping.

We head straight for the dining room for dinner, and then we will prepare for bed.

"One announcement before we retire for the night," I say. "Tomorrow will begin the selfless simulations. You will meet in the hall outside of the control room at eight in the morning. Following your simulation, you will have the remainder of the day to do what you want. I know that this is a new concept for Abnegation, but I believe these simulations take a lot out of you. It would be too much to expect any one person to face what we are expecting of you and they have you work for the rest of the day. So enjoy your time while you have it. Does anyone have any questions?"

Everyone around me shakes their heads, "Okay, then. Have a good night."

We retire to the dorm room and prepare for bed. Before I know it I am sleeping. After such a long day, the rest is welcomed.


	17. Chapter 17

I don't own anything!

Chapter 17

Tris

Today starts the selfless simulations. We are going to be brought into a room and put into a simulation that places us into a situation that forces us to be selfless. I just know that I am going to struggle with this part of initiation. I am not naturally selfless like the rest of Abnegation. I still will chose to preserve my own life before I decide to lay down my life for a stranger.

Tobias calls us into a room one at a time. When he calls me in, I look at him nervously while he types a few things into the computer and prepares the simulation.

"Okay Tris, I am going to inject this serum into your neck. In about sixty seconds you will enter the simulation. The only way to get out of the simulation is to behave selflessly. Once you have behaved in a selfless manner, you will come out of the simulation and your time will be recorded. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Actually yes," I say. "What are the wires for?"

"You will have no wires. The serum has a transmitter in it that will transmit your data directly to the computer. The wires are for me. They permit me to observe the simulation and make changes to the program as needed and to record the data."

"Will you be able to interact with me in the simulation?"

"No," he explains. "I am only an observer. You will not be aware in this simulation, so you will not be aware of anything happening around you or of me. Are you ready?"

"Not really, but okay," I say.

He has me tilt my head slightly to give him easier access to the artery in my neck. He injects the serum into me and returns to the computer to attach the wires to him.

I look around me and I am no longer in the simulation room. I am in the factionless sector; it looks like the day I walked home from school after my aptitude test.

I am approached by the same scary factionless man who smells of alcohol and body odor. His teeth are rotted and his face is contorted from what I can only imagine to be a hard life. I try to ignore him as I walk past him but he grabs hold of my arm and stops me.

"Miss you have to help me," he says. "I need your help, there is a girl stuck in a room in that building and I need help to get her out."

Something about this doesn't seem right. Why would he need my help to get this girl out of a room? Something in my head tells me that I shouldn't go anywhere alone with this man. My hands begin to shake as he attempts to convince me that he needs my help. I can't go anywhere with this man.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I can help you," I say and I begin to walk away. I quickly walk down the street and turn the corner, but I am back on the same block and the same factionless man is standing there pleading with me to help him.

I can't do it, but no matter how far I walk or how fast I run, I always end up back in front of this same factionless man. I am ready to break down and cry. Then something registers in my head. The only way I can get out of this is by being selfless.

I turn around and tell the man that he can stay here and I will go and help the girl. I run into the building to find a little girl pounding on a closet door. No matter what I do, I can't get her out of the room. I try to break the door, to find a key to open the door, to take the door off of the hinges, anything that I can think of I try, but nothing works. It seems like I have been working on getting this girl out for an hour, I don't know what to do. I run out of the door and drag the factionless man into the building with me.

"Please help me get the little girl out of the room," he says to me again. I will help you, but you need to help me. It seems like forever, we try all of the same things to get the door open, and nothing works.

Then I remember this is a simulation, this isn't real. If I need a way to get this girl out of the room, then I need to find a way.

"You have to help me," the man says. He is scary and his presence here makes me uncomfortable.

"I'll help you Can you go to the door and try the knob first?" I ask.

He looks at me strangely, like this is a bizarre request but he does it anyway. As he walks to the door I keep thinking over and over that the door is unlocked. When he tries the knob, the door swings open and I am back in the simulation room.

Tobias is looking at me strangely. "How did you do that?" he asks.

"Do what?"

"You manipulated the simulation. He shouldn't have been able to open the door. You are Divergent, aren't you?"

My heart sinks, how could he possibly know? I was told not to tell anyone, but he knows.

"Look Tris, you can't manipulate the simulations. These simulations are seen by the leaders and the Erudite also have access to them. You need to find a way to be selfless without manipulating things within the simulation. I will change the footage on the computer, but you need to figure this out before your next simulation tomorrow."

I don't know what to say. I didn't even realize that I was manipulating anything while I was in the simulation. How am I going to be more selfless so that I can get out of these simulations?

I leave the room when Tobias calls in another initiate. I decide to take a walk to try to figure things out. I don't know what to do, and I don't have anyone that I can talk to about this right now. Tobias can't answer any questions today, he will be administering the simulations to the initiates for most of the day and then he has to work in the control room tonight. I have to figure this out. For the first time I am worried that everyone who looks at me can see that I am Divergent, and it feels terrifying.

I spend the rest of the day trying to sort out what I need to do. How can I be selfless in that situation? What would have been the selfless thing to do? I have no idea what I should have done. I can only hope that tomorrow's simulation is different.

XXX

The next day's simulation comes and it is different. Today it is the same factionless man, but the building is on fire and someone is stuck inside. He has tried to get the person out but can't get through the wall of black smoke and fire to get to the person. This one is easier to for me to know what I need to do to be selfless. I have to enter the burning building and save whoever is in there. 'Easier said than done,' I think.

I tell the man that I will help him. I run into the burning building. I can feel the flames touch my legs and the smoke filling my lungs. But I have to find the person that is trapped in here. I start to try to open every door, but I can't find anyone. I call out to the person so that they know I'm looking for them, but I hear no response. I run from door to door, choking on the smoke and trying to keep my clothes from catching fire. I can't find anyone here. I feel like I have been searching for ever. My eyes are burning and I can't tell if they are tearing because of the smoke or if it is because of the panic that I am beginning to feel.

I continue to go from door to door and finally when I have reached the final door, I hear a small whimper. It is the sound of pure terror. I open the door to find a small boy huddled in the corner of a closet. I lift him into my arms and cover his face with my jacket. I run with him out of the building.

Once I reach the outside, the factionless man takes him from me and I collapse.

I open my eyes. I am back in the simulation room. I still have tears still streaming down my cheeks and my body is trembling. I see Tobias walking toward me. I break down completely. That was the most terrifying thing that I have ever had to do. I curl up into a ball and weep. He places a hand in between my shoulder blades. "Are you okay?" he asks me.

"No I'm not okay, I almost choked and burned to death. How can you do this to me? How can I ever get through this? I was in there forever! I thought I was going to die!"

"Tris, how long do you think you were in that simulation?"

"I don't know, an hour?"

"Try five minutes. You did very well. It will get easier. I promise."

He removes his hand from my back and takes my hand to help me from the chair. I hold his hand for an extra moment. I know I won't be seeing him again today because all this week he has to give the simulations and then work on the computers until late into the evening.

The rest of the week goes by very similarly. We go in and face these horrifying situations and we have to be selfless to get out. We are all starting to have nightmares and are all having trouble with sleeping. We wake nightly to someone screaming out in terror because of something that they have seen in the simulation that has found them in their sleep. Or sometimes we are the ones doing the screaming.

On the final day, my simulation is the same as it was on the second day. I had to save someone from a burning building. This time it only took me three minutes to find the person and get out of the simulation.

Tobias seems to be happy with my results.

"Congratulations Tris," he says. "You have successfully made it through Abnegation's initiation. Tomorrow will be the initiation ceremony."

I smile at him and relieve myself from the room. I hope I never have to see that simulation room again.

XXX

That night at dinner we all sit around the table, relieved that initiation is finally over. For thirty days we have devoted our lives to performing community service. The last five of which we have been seen some of greatest fears and faced them selflessly. Tomorrow we will become full members of Abnegation.

Abnegation's initiation ceremony is quite an affair. All of the initiates will sit side by side on a bench in Abnegation headquarters. One of the older members reads the manifesto and then all of the older members wash the initiates' feet. After the foot washing we will share a meal, with each person serving food to the person on their left. Following the ceremony, we will be congratulated and be shown to our new homes by one of the older members. Once we are full members we no longer are to reside in our parents' home. We are to take on the role of an adult and become active members of the community.

Tomorrow we will finally begin our new lives.


	18. Chapter 18

I don't own anything!

Chapter 18

Tobias

Today is the initiation celebration. The initiates have made it through their initiation perfectly.

As they all prepare for the day, there is a sense of relief and finality in the air. We gather in the dining room for breakfast and the room is silent, no one says anything, so I decide to break the silence.

"I just wanted to tell you all that I am very proud of the work you have done over the past month. You have all proved yourselves to be great assets to Abnegation. As you go forward, please take note of the bonds you have forged here with your fellow initiates and with me. Friendship and companionship are both very important to the Abnegation people. Companionship and friendship provide you with the means to help you to forget yourself and focus your attention to the needs of others. The people that surround you have all proven themselves to be valuable assets to your life. In them, find your selflessness and your bravery."

They all look at me and Felicia speaks up. "Thank you all for your kindness and friendship. I especially want to thank Andrew, you have been the one person that I could turn to throughout all of this." Without hesitation or embarrassment, she leans in and kisses him in front of everyone. It isn't an Abnegation thing to do, but she got her point across. He hesitates at first, but then pulls her tighter and deeps the kiss. They break apart breathless.

Sally and Mary both look like they are going to faint, Tris looks amused, and Susan looks at Brian longingly. Susan stands, "I have grown up here. I always believed that in order to be selfless, you couldn't even talk about yourself enough to let anyone really know you. I learned that allowing someone in, is more selfless than keeping yourself blocked off and separate from contact with others," she looks directly at Brian and says, "Thank you."

Before she realizes what happens, Brian stands and reaches for her. He pulls her into his arms and kisses her gently. It is sweet and pure, full of the hope for a future. He whispers something in her ear that only she can hear. He face becomes red and her eyes wide and full of tears. She whispers barely audibly, "I love you, too." Her smile widens and she wraps him in a hug.

I look to Tris, she smiles brightly at her friend. The girl that was once so sure that she would marry Tris' brother Caleb, the girl that wouldn't let anyone in, until she met Brian. I can't help but to be envious of them, they have managed to express their feelings for each other without hesitation. I have been so terrified to tell Tris how I feel that I have constant anxiety about my feeling for her.

"With that, I would like to thank you all for doing such a great job. It is now time to begin our way to Abnegation headquarters to begin the ceremony."

We all clean up the kitchen together it is our last act as a complete group. We gather our things from the dorm room and begin to make our way to Abnegation headquarters. Following dinner, all of the initiates will be given the keys to their new homes and as my final act as their trainer, I will lead them to their homes. Tomorrow they will be provided a one day break to ready their houses and meet with their families. The following day they will gather again at headquarters to be asked to look over a list of jobs in which they will choose three they like. The leaders will then assign them their new jobs.

We arrive at Abnegation headquarters. The building looks like every other building in Abnegation, the only difference is it is large enough to occupy every citizen in the faction. The initiates enter the main room and sit side by side on a bench. Marcus reads the manifesto to everyone. "Our newest members have proved their selflessness and willingness to put others' needs in front of their own. For this we are all very proud."

Once he is finished speaking, it is time for the older members to wash the initiates' feet. Each elder member chooses an initiate. Tris seem surprised to see her father kneel before her and begin the washing of the feet. Usually government officials don't participate in this part of the ceremony, allowing other members to do the honors. But it is usually a great honor to have the opportunity to participate when your child is one of the initiates.

After the foot washing we share a meal, each person serves food to the person on their left. It is a plain meal of chicken, peas, and potatoes. The ceremony and the meal last until six o'clock in the evening.

"On behalf of the government officials," Andrew says. "We would like to congratulate all of you. We look forward to working with you in the future as full members of our faction. Now it is time for you to take your leave. As your instructor's final act in that capacity, he will provide you with the keys to your new homes and lead you there. It is now time for you to take on the role of an adult and become active members of the community."

I stand and the initiates follow. They file out behind me. We gather our belongings and begin our trek across Abnegation to where the houses for singles are located. Every neighborhood is set for a specific purpose, one for people who are single or newly married, one for families, and one for the elderly.

We enter the street in where the new members' houses are located.

"I will call you each one at a time, provide you with your keys and help you to enter your home for the first time. First up, Sally."

Sally steps forward, I hand her the keys. I gather her belongings for her and carry them to her new home. She opens the door for the first time and enters her new home. I take her belongings in and set them down. "Congratulations, Sally," I say and turn to leave.

"Next, Mary."

This continues through all of the initiates until I reach Susan.

"Susan." I step forward, hand her the keys and stop to gather her things, but Brian steps in front of me to take her things into her house. Brian was already given his keys and shown to his house, he returned to be with Susan. They enter her house and close the door.

Finally we reach the Tris' house. I hand her the keys and gather her things for her. She opens her door and enters, with me following behind her. I turn to leave. I want to give her time to take in her new surroundings on her own, but she takes my hand and stops me.

"Please don't leave," she says.

I turn to look at her and smile, "I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to."

"I don't want you to go anywhere tonight. I want you to stay here with me."

"Wait, what? You want me to… _stay_?"

She nods at me with a bashful smile. "I don't want to be alone," she whispers.

I turn and close the door. I turn back to her and gather her into my arms, "Do you want to take a walk with me?"

"Where?" she asks.

"Well, it's kind of a surprise."

"Okay,"

I take her hand into mine and lead her to the kitchen and out the back door. We are going to go to one of my favorite places.

XXX

We make arrive at the Navy Pier. She looks around in amazement. The carousel stands with horses frozen in mid gallop, and the Ferris wheel looms over head, like the skeleton of a lost time.

"What is this place?" she asks.

"This is the Navy Pier, it used to be an amusement park and board walk with rides and stores and other things for families and vacationers to do."

"It's amazing!"

She walks over to the carousel and touches one of the plastic horses. Then she walks to the Ferris wheel, can we climb?

I look at her, and fear flashes through me but she doesn't notice.

She grabs the ladder and begins her ascent. I follow close behind, trying desperately to swallow my fear. We climb in silence until we reach the platform midway up the wheel. She stops and climbs onto the platform, giving me room to climb next to her. I stay away from the edge and lean my body against a support beam.

She turns to look at me, "You're afraid of heights, aren't you?"

I nod, trying desperately to control my breathing. She moves back away from the edge and pulls me to her. She wraps her arms around her body and places my hand on her chest. "Breathe when I breathe," she says. She breathes deeply and I follow. Soon my heart rate has calmed a little and I can breathe normally. "Better?" she asks.

"Yeah, I am," I smile. She makes me feel safe and comfortable.

She turns her head and kisses me. We look out over the horizon at the as the sun sets. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asks.

I keep my eyes trained on her, "Yes… it is, very, beautiful."

She turns to look at me and sees me looking at her and not the horizon. She blushes and looks away.

"Is this what you wanted to show me? I love it here," she says.

"I'm glad, It is a pretty special place. I found it after I moved into my house. There is a perfect view from my bedroom, which you already saw."

She nods. I pull her closer to me and wrap my arms more tightly around her. I can feel her heart racing, it feels like mine.

"Tris, there is something that I've wanted to tell you. But I have been afraid."

"Be brave, Tobias," is all she says to me.

I take her chin in my hand and turn her face so I can see her eyes. They sparkle in the light of the setting sun. She smiles at me and I kiss her on her cheek, her nose, and then her lips.

"Tris, I love you," I say the words quietly but with all the feeling I have within me.

She looks deep into my eyes and stays quiet for just a moment. A smile creeps across her lips then presses her lips to mine again. "I love you too, Tobias," she says the words breathlessly. She turns toward me and wraps her legs around my waist. I pull her closer to me and kiss her neck and her jaw. "I was so worried that I would scare you away if I told you how I feel."

"I told you once before, as long as you want me, I'm yours," she says.

I kiss her lips and whisper, "What if I tell you that I want you to me mine forever?"

"Then I'm yours, forever."

I deepen the kiss until our tongues meet. There is so much passion and desire in this kiss I don't ever want it to end.

Darkness envelopes us quickly as the setting sun takes the last of its light below the horizon.

"We should probably make our way back to Abnegation," I whisper.

She nods and starts to stand, but I pull her back to me and kiss her one last time before letting her go. "Should I start climbing down?" she asks.

"No, I think I should go first. In case you slip or something, so I can save you."

She smiles and nods. I begin my decent back down the ladder and she follows. We walk back to Abnegation hand in hand. And return to her house where we will spend the night in each other's arms.


	19. Chapter 19

I don't own anything!

Chapter 19

Tris

I wake in the morning wrapped in Tobias' arms. He stayed with me last night after we got back from the Pier. I turn onto my back and look at him and smile. He loves me. He took me to the most romantic place that I have ever been, faces his fear of heights, and told me he loves me. He wants me to be his forever. The thought of spending my life with this man makes me happier than I ever thought I could be.

He stirs, his arm tightens around me pulling me closer to him. He keeps his eyes closed and kisses me on my forehead.

"Good morning my love," he says. "I love this, I love waking up with you in my arms."

"Good morning," I say pausing for a moment. "I have to admit that I kind of like this too." I kiss him on his cheek then his mouth.

"Oh, really. Just kind of?"

I smile and wrap my leg around his waist pulling him closer still. "I love this too," I whisper.

I untangle myself from him and pull myself up out of bed. "Hey, where do you think you are going?" he asks pulling me back down to him.

"I need to get a shower, and you need to go back to your house and get a shower too. Don't forget we have to have dinner with my parents today."

"We have all day, we can lay here a while longer," he whines.

"No, not really. Tobias do you have any idea what time it is right now?"

"No why, what time is it?" he asks.

"It is twelve-thirty in the afternoon. I need time to shower, dress, and prepare myself for this, and so do you."

"Yeah, I guess you are right. I don't think I have ever slept this late before," he says releasing me and getting up out of the bed. He stretches and I can see a sliver of skin just above his sweatpants and it makes my heart flutter. I turn away so he can't see me staring at him. I can't believe this man wants to be with me, he loves me, I can't believe he loves me.

He walks over to me and pulls me to stand in front of him. He kisses my forehead. "Okay, my beautiful one. Prepare for the day. I will be back over to get you in about an hour, okay?"

"I may not be quite ready yet, but you will just have to sit here and wait for me."

He smiles and walks out of the bedroom. A few moments later I hear the kitchen door close and I know he is gone for now.

I busy myself with showering and dressing. When Tobias comes back in I am standing in my closet with nothing but my tight camisole and shorts. He comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist and kisses the back of my neck. I'm embarrassed because no one has ever seen me in almost no clothes.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" he asks me.

I can feel my cheeks burn. I touch my hands to my face to cool myself down. He turns me around to face him and he runs his hands around my waist to the small of my back. He presses a kiss to my lips and my hands wrap around his neck and into his hair. I stand on my tiptoes to deepen the kiss but then he runs his hands down my sides and wraps them around my thighs. He pulls me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. He walks us over to the bed and sits on the edge so that I am in his lap.

His hands find my bare skin under my camisole on the small of my back. His touch sends chills through my body. I pull back from the kiss and look into his deep blue eyes.

"I need to finish getting dressed," I tell him.

"Okay," he nods. He releases his grip on me and I stand in front of him. He takes my hand and kisses it. "I'll go downstairs and get a drink of water and wait for you there." He kisses my cheek and leaves my room.

I can't help but think about how much I love him as I get dressed. I wear my normal Abnegation grey pants and jacket buttoned up to my neck. Sometimes I wish I could wear something a little less… 'stiff'. I usually hate that nickname, but that is exactly how these clothes make me feel.

I exit my bedroom and walk downstairs to the living room where Tobias is sitting on the couch with his eyes closed. I walk quietly over to him and kiss him on the lips. "Are you ready to go?" I ask.

"Yep, let's go."

XXX

As we walk toward my parents' house, I notice that Tobias is starting to act nervous. "Are you okay?" I ask him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Maybe you should have chosen Candor, Tobias because you are a terrible liar."

He laughs, "I guess I'm just a little nervous. I've never met the parents of my girlfriend before."

"Have you had many girlfriends?"

"No, and that idea doesn't really help my nervousness, Tris."

I stop walking, we are at the end of my parents' block. "Tobias, look at me. Breathe. Pretend you are breathing with me like on the Ferris wheel." I see him breathe in and out slowly, calming himself. "Better?"

"Yes, much better."

"Look, I love you. No matter what, I love you. Just be yourself and you will be fine. My mother already likes you, so you only have to worry about my father," I say. Then I think about earlier today and say jokingly, "Just don't mention sleeping in my bed or seeing me in my undergarments and everything should be fine."

He smiles at me and we continue down the street to my parents' house.

We climb the stairs and knock on the door. My mother answers with a smile on her face. "Welcome home Beatrice," she says to me. She looks at Tobias and says, "Tobias, it is nice to see you again."

"Hello Mrs. Prior, thank you for inviting me to dinner," he says.

She smiles, "I told you to call me Natalie, Tobias. And I'm happy to have you here. Please come in." She steps aside and we enter the hall. I see my father sitting at the table in the kitchen. We walk into the kitchen and my father stands, he steps forward and hugs me.

"Beatrice, I am so proud of how well you did during your initiation. I understand you did quite well on the selfless simulations," he says.

He looks to Tobias, his demeanor changes to over protective father. "Hello Tobias."

Tobias nods respectfully, "Hello Mr. Prior. Thank you for inviting me for dinner."

"So Tobias, is it true that Beatrice did quite well during the simulations?"

"Yes sir, she did very well. She was able to move through the simulations quite quickly, she showed an impressive amount of selflessness," Tobias tells him.

He says this with pride in his voice. My father notices and glares at Tobias.

"Please, have a seat," my mother says entering the kitchen. "Dinner will be served in just a moment."

"Do you need help mom?" I ask.

"No Beatrice, you are a guest here tonight. But thank you for offering," she says.

I sit down with my father and Tobias. He looks nervous and completely flustered. My father still has the over protective father look.

"So Beatrice, how is your new house?" my father asks.

"It is quite lovely. I live next door to Susan Black and Tobias. All of the initiates are on the same block, so we should be able to do community service together from time to time."

"You are living next door to Tobias?" he asks with coolness in his voice.

"Yes, his house in on one side and Susan's is on the other side. It is nice having friends around."

"And am I to believe that what is going on here is simply a friendship? Because I was lead to believe that you two were entertaining the thought of dating."

"Yes, Dad. We are dating," I say frankly.

My father looks to Tobias, "And what do you have to say?"

"I care very deeply for your daughter, sir. I have enjoyed getting to know her through working with her during our community service projects in initiation."

"Is that so? And you don't have a problem with the fact that you are two years than my daughter?" he asks.

"Two years isn't so much, Mr. Prior. And Beatrice is not an average sixteen year old girl. She is intelligent, driven, and incredibly selfless. She is also one of the bravest people I have ever met."

"Tobias, I'm not sure I understand what your intentions are here. What are your feelings for my daughter?"

"I am in love with your daughter sir."

My father scowls at Tobias, "You love her? You have not known her that long, how do you know you love her?"

"I have known Beatrice since we were children, after all you and my father have been working together for years."

"Speaking of which, what does your father think about this match-up?"

"I honestly don't know, but I also am not going to let my father choose who I love."

I sit and watch this exchange and my heart races. Tobias is not standing down from my father. He is being brave and thinking only of me as he speaks, showing my father a great amount of selflessness. Hopefully my father can see that.

"Beatrice, I have not heard from you about this yet," my father says.

I stare from him to Tobias and back. I need to be honest and brave just like Tobias.

"I… um, I love him too, Dad," I say almost inaudibly.

My father looks at me in shock.

"Okay, Andrew. Enough interrogating the kids, it is time to eat dinner," my mother says.

We sit through a quiet dinner, my parents holding hands like they always have. My mother looks happy as she glances between Tobias and me. She smiles and lets me know that she approves of my choices. My father however, glares in Tobias' direction until my mother does something to distract him. It is their unspoken communication that amazes me. She can say so much to him with just her eyes. And he understands every word.

Following dinner, we retire to the living room like we always have. My mother begins knitting and my father sits in his chair and continues to look between Tobias and me.

"Tobias," my mother says softly, "you said that you love my daughter because she is selfless, intelligent, brave, and driven. Do you think you possess the same qualities?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I think we have a lot more in common than you may realize. I also believe that I have the qualities needed to complement Beatrice. We balance each other, we support each other."

My mother nods. My father stares intently but says nothing more.

"It is late. I think it is time to go home. I have a big day tomorrow," I say.

"Yes, do you know what three jobs you will choose?" my father asks.

"I am not sure. I would like to spend some time looking it over. I want to choose something that is helpful and important. I actually wouldn't mind managing the sorting and distribution center."

My father nods and looks pleased, "That is very strenuous but important work, Beatrice."

We all stand and my mother hugs me. She smiles warmly at Tobias and takes leave to the kitchen. My father comes to me and hugs me also, he pats my head and whispers so only I can hear, "I am very proud of the choices you are making for your life, all of your choices." He smiles and kisses my forehead.

"I expect that you will watch out for my daughter," my father says to Tobias.

"Yes sir," Tobias answers.

That is my father's way of approving of this relationship. He doesn't seem completely thrilled about it, but he isn't going to forbid it either. At least not for now.

We say good night and begin walking toward our neighborhood. It is dark out now and Tobias turns to me.

"Would you like to go to the Pier before heading home?"

I smile, the Pier is my new favorite place. "Yes, that sounds great."


	20. Chapter 20

I don't own anything!

Chapter 20

Tobias

We get beyond Abnegation and walk hand in hand to the Navy Pier. I love it there. I enjoy thinking about what it would have been like to live when this was a bustling city full of life.

"Do you think your father is okay with this?" I ask Tris nervously.

She smiles at me, "Well, he told me he was proud of all of the choices I am making, so I assume that includes you."

That makes me relax a little more. Although I don't care what anyone thinks, especially Marcus, but I know how important her family is to her. I know that this relationship wouldn't last long if he didn't approve.

I smile back at her, "I have something that I need to tell you. It is about my mother."

"I'm so sorry you lost your mother. I remember going to her funeral when I was a kid."

"My mother is not dead." Tris looks at me shocked.

"What? But how do you know that?" she asks.

"About a month before the choosing ceremony I was handing food out to the factionless and this woman approached me. She looked familiar, but I didn't know who she was. She started talking to me and told me she was my mother. Of course I didn't believe her at first that was until she was able to tell me specific details about my childhood that no one else ever knew."

"What is she doing with the factionless?"

"She said that Marcus used to beat her like he beat me. She found comfort in the arms another man and became pregnant. When my father found out that the baby she was carrying belonged to another man, he beat her so badly that she lost the child. The next day she left the hospital and never went back. My father told everyone that she died in childbirth."

Tris stops walking and looks at me. "She was alive, and didn't try to save you from him?" she says, tears forming in her eyes at the thought of my childhood beatings.

"She claimed that she thought I would be safe with him. She didn't think that he would harm me. She was wrong," I say with contempt.

"Have you seen her since?"

"Yes, several times. She wants me to leave Abnegation and go to live with the factionless. She says I don't belong in Abnegation."

The tears start streaming down her face and she turns away from me, "You aren't going to go are you?"

I pull her back to me, "I will never leave you!"

She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me. We continue walking to the Pier and sit at the carousel. She sits between my legs and leans back into my chest. I wrap my arms around her abdomen and we look out at the stars.

The night is silent and perfect.

"Tris, do you think that maybe someday you would be interested in marrying me?"

"Tobias, I would marry you tomorrow if that is what you wanted."

I smile and kiss her head. We sit in silence enjoying our solitude for a long time.

"We should probably head back, it is getting late," I say.

She nods and we stand and begin to walk hand in hand back to Abnegation. As we get closer, we can hear the sounds of struggle and crying out. Then the popping sounds of gun shots ring out through the silent night. I look to Tris terrified and see the terror shown back on her face. We silently make our way around the outskirts of Abnegation, to try to see what is going on.

In the streets, we see groups of Dauntless soldiers marching in unison. Some are pulling Abnegation citizens out of their homes and executing them on the streets.

"My parents," Tris cries. I have to hold her tightly so she can't get away from me.

"Tris, look at me. We can't go running in there, they will not hesitate to kill us. There is nothing that we can do. We are no match for an army of armed Dauntless."

She nods but she doesn't look convinced. I keep her hand intertwined with mine. We walk around the outskirts of town, trying to figure out what we can do, when we run into a Dauntless soldier. He has a look of terror in his face, he is tall and muscular with tan skin and brown hair and eyes. He isn't threatening, he just looks scared.

"You two have got to get out of here," he whispers.

"What is happening," I ask.

"The Dauntless soldiers are under a simulation. Last night, all of Dauntless was injected with what we were told was a tracking device. They told us that it would help locate us if we would ever get lost. It seems that it was a simulation serum though because they are all under a simulation. It is like they are all sleepwalking. And apparently their orders are to murder Abnegation."

"And why are you not under a simulation?" Tris asks.

"I don't know," he says.

"I know why," I say. He looks at me with even more terror, "You are Divergent. Serums don't work as well on people who are Divergent."

"How could you possibly know that?" the boy asks.

"Because I am Divergent," I say. Tris looks at me, like she almost knew. She looks from me to the boy and smiles.

"And so am I," she says confidently. "Tell us how we can help."

"I have to get back to Dauntless and try to shut down the simulation. I heard the Dauntless leaders saying that the simulation is being run from our control room. The train comes at twelve, forty-five. Do you know what time it is?"

I look at my watch, "That means it will arrive in seven minutes, you better get to the tracks if you are going to make it."

The boy nods. "There is a group of Abnegation hiding out in the basement of a building. The door can be accessed through an alley."

"Can you describe the building?" I ask.

"It looks to house a bunch of supplies and food."

"That is the sorting center. I know what door you are talking about. You better go. Stop the simulation!" he nods and runs away from us. We sneak around the back of our houses; this area seems to be empty now. All of the initiates must have either been captured or gotten away. We make our way through the high grass when someone comes up to us and grabs Tris' shoulder.

We turn to find Felicia, Michael, Susan, and Brian. Tris grabs Susan and hugs her tightly. "We were so worried about you, how did you get out? Where are the others?"

"Andrew was killed saving me. They shot him right in the back," Felicia sobs.

"None of the others made it either. I just happened to be walking back from the daycare when I saw the commotion and hid," says Michael.

"Brian and I were out for a walk, we managed to stay hidden in the tall grass. This is where we found Felicia and Michael," says Susan.

"We were out for a walk also," says Tris. "We were actually saved by a Dauntless soldier. He said that the rest of the soldiers are under some kind of simulation. He is going to try to shut it down."

"That explains a lot," says Felicia softly. "You could see it in their eyes they are not focused on anything. It's like they can't see anything the way they should. Like my sister looked under the peace serum."

"But why are the rest of them under a simulation and that one wasn't?" Brian asks.

"I don't know," I say. I think it is best to keep this boy's secret. Tris looks at me and understands.

"But he told us that there is a group of Abnegation hiding out in the basement of the sorting center," Tris explains.

""Then we should make our way there. We should be able to get there pretty safely. We should keep to the grass as much as possible," Brian says.

Susan takes his hand and they turn toward where the sorting center is located. We slowly make our way to the door to the basement. As we turn past Abnegation Headquarters, we can see a commotion down the street. Tris stops and looks at the woman that is being chased by Dauntless.

"You four get to the door and hide with the other, we will be right behind you," I tell them.

The woman is small in stature with blond hair just like Tris'. She is wearing grey pants and a grey camisole, and there are tattoos on her arms. It is Tris' mother.

Tris grabs my arm as she and her mother make eye contact. Her mother seems to plead with her, probably to run away. She has a rifle in her arms, she smiles at Tris and shoots the gun into the air. Suddenly she is surrounded as the Dauntless open fire. Her body slumps to the ground. Tris lets out a squeal and pulls to run to her mother. I pull her back to me and drag her to the door leading to the others, to safety.


	21. Chapter 21

I don't own anything!

Chapter 21

Tris

That was my mother! My mother just sacrificed her life to keep the Dauntless distracted so that I could get away. My mother, who used to cut my hair, take care of me when I was sick, help me, encourage me, and now she is gone. Nothing more than a memory.

She had tattoos on the tops of her arms, was she Dauntless once? Why didn't I ever realize that she came from another faction, especially Dauntless. She was always a perfect Abnegation woman. Selfless, always wanting to help others. But she was Dauntless.

My mind feels like it is going to completely shut down as I feel the scream building up inside of me. The tears start to fall as I realize that I will never again see my mother.

Tobias keeps hold of my arm and begins to drag me in the opposite direction of where my mother lays, dead. I feel myself struggle against him, but my mind is not processing what is happening here. Why is he pulling me away, where are we going?

"Tris, we have to go and find the others. We have to get out of here. There is nothing that we can do for her now."

I hear him, but I really don't hear him. I don't respond, I can't think, I can't move.

He places his hands around me and lifts me into his arms and carries me away from my mother. I watch behind me as she disappears from sight. This is the last I will ever see of her. My mother is gone, and there is nothing I can do about it.

We find the door and knock on it. A girls opens it, Susan, she opens the door and Tobias carries me in.

Susan, Brian, Felicia, and Michael are all here, along with my father, Marcus, and several other Abnegation people. My father looks from me to Tobias and scowls a bit.

"Why are you carrying her?" he asks Tobias.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Natalie was shot and killed. She distracted a group of Dauntless so that Tris and I could get away. Tris saw her mother killed and went into shock."

He sets me down gently next to my father and he wraps his arms around me to comfort me. I know I'm here, but I feel so lost right now. I burry my face in my father's chest and begin to weep. I cry for my mother, for the friends that I lost, for the faction that I lost. Nothing will ever be the same again.

I hear my internal drill sergeant tell me to snap out of it. We are in trouble here. I can't get lost, I have to fight. I breathe deeply and think about all that I lost today, then I think about all that I still have. I have my father. I have Felicia, Susan, Mike, and Brian. And I have Tobias. I have Tobias who loves me, who wants to marry me some day. I breathe again and think one last time about my mother, then decide that I am going to fight for what I still have and not get lost in what I have lost.

I look around the room and realize that Marcus is in this room and is standing to approach Tobias. Tobias looks like he is going to jump out of his skin as Marcus pulls him into a hug. Immediately I pull myself out of my stupor and move between the two of them.

"Get away from him," I growl.

Marcus looks at me with such contempt that it makes me recoil slightly, but I stand my ground.

"Beatrice, what are you doing?" my father scolds.

"Dad, you don't understand. Not everything the Erudite write is inaccurate. Some of it is actually true."

My father looks from Tobias to Marcus and seems to understand what I am talking about.

"Marcus, what does she mean?" he asks.

"Andrew, this is none of your concern. This is between my son and me."

My father looks at Marcus and suddenly seems to realize that Marcus is not the model leader that he has always seemed to be.

"I'm sorry but this is my concern. Tobias intends to marry my daughter, so that makes him my concern."

Marcus glares from me to Tobias and backs off.

"We will discuss this later, son," Marcus says.

"There is nothing here to discuss," Tobias says quietly, his voice full of fury and fire.

I pull him over to my father and we sit.

"We can't stay here," Tobias says. "Eventually they will find us."

"What is your plan?" asks my father.

"I think we need to make it to Amity or Candor. There is no way we can fight an army of Dauntless with no weapons and only a handful of people," Tobias says.

"Shouldn't we wait for that Dauntless boy to try to stop the simulation?" I ask.

"What Dauntless boy? What simulation?" asks Marcus from across the room.

"We met a Dauntless boy who told us that the rest of Dauntless was under a simulation. For some reason the boy was not affected by the simulation. He was planning to go back to Dauntless and attempt to stop the simulation."

"How will we know if he has stopped the simulation?" Brian asks.

"I'm not sure," Tobias says. "But we can't stay here and wait to be found. We are too vulnerable sitting in this room. We don't know what is going on out there and we don't have any way to find out."

He sits quietly for a moment and then his expression changes. It becomes solemn, grave.

"I'll go out and try to find out what is going on out there," he says.

"No! I can't lose you too," I say loudly. "You can't go out there, they will kill you."

"Tris, I have to. It is the only way. I'll come back, I promise."

I begin to sob, "You can't make a promise like that."

Suddenly there is a pounding on the door, and it bursts open. A boy dressed in all black stumbles into the room and slams the door. It is the boy we met just a little while ago.

"What happened?" Tobias asks.

"I couldn't make it to the train. There were too many of them. I can't do it on my own."

"We need to come up with a plan," I say. "We can't just sit here and wait to die."

"We need to get to Dauntless and stop the simulation," Tobias says. He looks to the boy, "Can you get us in there? I can help you."

"I have an idea, but we would need more guns and a couple other people," says the boy.

"I'm coming," I declare

"So am I," says Brian.

Susan gasps and grabs his arm.

"Tris, you are not going. I can't risk losing you," Tobias says.

"You go, I go," I say firmly.

He looks away, defeated. He knows this is a losing battle. He turns his attention to the boy, "What's the plan?"

"We are going to have to take the train. There is an entrance that is only used on choosing day for new initiates. I doubt they would monitor that entrance because it is at the bottom of a seven story building."

"Okay, let's go. Michael I need you to lead the others to Amity. They will help us, at least for a little while," Tobias says. "Brian, Tris, and I will accompany, um… what is your name?"

"Uriah," the boy says.

"Brian, Tris and I will accompany Uriah back to Dauntless and attempt to shut down the simulation."

"I'm going with you," my father declares.

"Dad, no!"

"Beatrice, if you are going, my place is with you. I lost your mother today. I am not going to lose you too."

"Fine," Tobias says. "Let's go. We need to find a way to get guns."

"Before my mother was killed, she managed to shoot a couple Dauntless herself. Maybe their guns are still there."

"Okay, Uriah and I will go and see if we can retrieve guns. You stay here. Do not open this door for anyone. We will knock, twice, then three times, then six times. Only open the door when you hear that pattern."

I begin to protest, but Tobias gives me a look telling me to stop and trust him so I back down.

He and Uriah leave.

We sit in silence and wait to for them to return. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Marcus glaring at me. I turn my attention to him and he doesn't break his glare.

"Marcus, is there a problem?" I ask.

He continues to stare daggers at me but doesn't respond.

"You don't own him anymore. You can't hurt him anymore. He belongs with me and as long as I'm around, you will never hurt him again."

"Maybe you shouldn't believe everything you read, little girl," Marcus growls.

"I didn't need to read it. I've seen the scars. I've seen what you have done to him. And you won't do it again."

"What do you mean, Beatrice?" my father asks.

I whisper so only my father can hear, "During initiation, I accidently walked in on Tobias as he was changing his shirt in the dorm room. I saw the scars on his back, one of them was fresh. Marcus had beaten him in the kitchen on visiting day."

My father looks to Marcus in disbelief.

-Two knocks- three knocks- six knocks-

I rise and open the door, Tobias and Uriah enter with guns. Tobias is wearing a black shirt and has two others for me and Brian to wear.

"Here, put these on," he says handing them over.

They hand over the guns and I look from Tobias to Uriah.

"This is a rifle," Uriah explains. "Place the butt of the rifle against your shoulder, point and pull the trigger. There will be some recoil, but your shoulder will absorb most of it."

"Next," Tobias says. "We need to understand how to get on the train."

"When the train arrives, it will be going slow. We will need to run alongside it. There is a handle on the outside of the car. Grab the handle and pull yourself into the car."

We all nod.

"Okay," Tobias says. "The train will be arriving soon. We need to go."

Susan wraps her arms around Brian and kisses him. Brian looks shocked and then smiles, "I'll see you soon, I promise."

She nods and backs away.

I turn to my father, "I wish you would reconsider."

"My place is with my family, Beatrice. If you and Tobias are going, then so am I."

Marcus stands, "I will be accompanying you as well."

Tobias glares at his father, but doesn't say a word to him, "Let's go. Michael, get the rest of them safely to the Amity. Tell them that Abnegation leaders Andrew Prior and Marcus Eaton sent you."

Michael nods grimly.

We leave the safety of our basement room and begin walking toward the tracks. We arrive just in time to get onto the train. I have watched the Dauntless do this for years. I would stand in the window in school and watch them board the train and jump off every day.

Uriah begins to run alongside the train, he grabs the handle and jumps on effortlessly. Next Tobias follows exactly what Uriah did and pulls himself onto the train, almost as easily as Uriah did. He looked as though he has been doing it all of his life. I can't help but think that maybe he belonged in Dauntless. I follow Tobias and grab the handle, I struggle but Tobias grabs me and pulls me into the train with him. Brian comes in next, he struggles a little, and Uriah helps him. Next my father enters, then Marcus.

We all sit down and wait until Uriah tells us that we need to jump off.


	22. Chapter 22

I don't own anything!

Chapter 22

Tobias

Uriah stands and shouts over the wind, "We will be jumping soon. We won't be jumping onto solid ground. We will be jumping onto a roof. You must jump when I tell you, or you might not make it on to the roof.

We all nod and I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. Tris knows my fear of heights and she grabs my hand and squeezes. "It will be alright," she whispers. "We'll jump together."

I nod. We stand and move toward the door.

"When I say jump, take a little run and jump out as far as you can."

We nod. "JUMP!"

Tris and I jump hand in hand and make it onto the roof with ease. Brian comes next followed by Andrew, Marcus, and finally Uriah.

"How do we get down from here?" Brian asks.

Uriah walks over to the edge of the building, "We jump. At the bottom of this hole there is a net that will catch you. We have to jump into the net."

First I jump onto a roof, now I have to jump off of the room and plummet seven stories?

Tris tightens her grip on my hand and pulls me to the edge of the building. We stand together and she says, "On three, okay?"

I nod.

"One- Two- Three!"

We jump together. I feel my heart race and my I hold my breath. A moment later we hit the net and the force knocks the air out of me. Tris giggles almost hysterically next to me. She is smiling from ear to ear. She really does belong in Dauntless.

We move quickly off of the net and prepare for the next jumper, who is Uriah. We help him from the net, just in time for Brian to land, followed by Marcus, then Andrew.

We quietly make our way through a set of double doors into a huge underground cavern. The room is so large that you cannot see from one end to the next. All around the cavern, there are stores and shops.

"This is what we call the Pit," Uriah explains. "The control room is this way."

We walk along the walls moving toward the direction that Uriah had indicated. Out of nowhere a Dauntless soldier appears and trains his gun on us.

"Peter, what are you doing awake?" Uriah asks accusingly.

"Drop your weapons," says Peter.

"Not a chance you traitor, drop your weapon or I'll shoot."

"You won't shoot me," Peter says. "You don't have it in you."

Peter looks from Uriah to me, then Tris. The look he gives Tris infuriates me. It is a look of lust. Like he wants to hurt her in the worst way he could possibly hurt her.

"Hey Stiff," Peter says looking at Tris. "Want a real man? I can give you something that no Stiff could ever give you."

He makes a derogatory gesture toward her and she looks at him in disgust.

"Enough Peter, drop the weapon or I'll shoot" Uriah commands.

Peter keeps his eyes trained on Tris, the fury is building inside of me. Before I realize what I did, I fire my gun and hit Peter in the shoulder. His gun clatters to the ground and as he falls clutching the bullet wound.

Uriah looks at me, "Nice shot!"

"What did you do that for?" Marcus commands.

"He was warned," I growl without looking at Marcus.

I point my gun at Peter and command, "Stand up, now!"

Marcus approaches to help him. I shift my gaze, "No, he stands himself."

"He has been shot, he can't stand," Marcus declares.

"I didn't shoot him in the leg, he can stand. Or he can lay there and bleed to death. Either way I don't care."

Peter stands slowly and walks toward Marcus and sits down. Marcus begins to examine the wound.

"Peter, who is running the simulation in the control room?" Uriah asks.

"I'll only tell you if you take me with you. They will kill me if you leave me here."

"I may just kill you myself," I growl at him. "Answer the question."

"Zeke is in there."

"What?" Uriah looks terrified. He begins to run toward the control room.

I turn to Brian, "Stay here and guard him. Don't let him move."

Brian nods and trains his gun toward Peter and Marcus.

Andrew, Tris and I follow Uriah to the control room. We enter an elevator and ride up several floors before the doors open.

"The guard that is in here is my brother," Uriah says. "We cannot shoot him. He is Divergent too. I know I can get him out of the simulation. I'll distract him, you shut down the simulation."

We all agree.

When we enter the hall, we are met with a group of Dauntless soldiers. Uriah shoots one in the chest and he falls to the floor. Uriah runs down a hall toward a door and Tris follows. Andrew begins to run in the opposite direction, trying to distract the soldiers. I turn to follow him so I can help him. He turns and yells at me, "No, it is your job to protect her from now on. You have to take care of her."

I immediately understand what he is going to do. He is going to sacrifice himself to save the rest of us. To save his daughter.

"No, Dad!" Tris yells. I grab her and push her in the direction that Uriah ran.

The soldiers open fire, but not before Andrew shot at them, inflicting mortal wounds to both of them.

I drag Tris to the control room where Uriah is pleading with another man who must be his brother.

"Tris, stay in the door way. Keep your gun raised and if someone enters the hall shoot them. Don't talk, just shoot. Got it?"

She nods. She has tears streaming down her face. She knows that she has just lost her father the same way she lost her mother.

I enter the control room and Uriah and Zeke have moved away from the computer. Uriah has his gun pointed to an unarmed Zeke. He pleads with him to wake up and see him.

I get started typing on the computer, trying to figure out the code that will shut the simulation down. I hear commotion behind me and can see the reflection of the two guys fighting in the computer monitors. I continue to work and hope that Uriah can get to his brother before one of them gets killed or before Zeke comes to remove me from the computer.

After a few long moments, I figure out the code and the am able to stop the simulation. At that moment, Uriah and Zeke enter the room. I turn to them, "The simulation is shut down," I tell them. "But we need to remove the data disk or they will just be able to start it up again."

Zeke runs over to the side of the computer and pulls off a panel. He pulls the data disk out and hands it to Uriah.

"Let's go," Uriah says.

"Where?" asks Zeke.

"We are going to Amity," I say. "We need help if we are going to try to fight Erudite."

They both nod and we exit the control room. Tris is still there, crying but doing exactly what I told her to do. I grab her hand and lower the gun.

"It's over, let's go. We need to move."

She nods and we begin walking toward the elevator. She glances down the hall to where her father lies dead with the two soldiers. She immediately throws up. I hold her so she doesn't collapse and lift her to carry her to the elevator.

The doors close, leaving the sight of her father's crumpled body behind the doors. She buries her face into my chest and begins to sob uncontrollably. She cries until the doors open again and quickly composes herself.

"We need to get to the train now if we are going to Amity," Zeke declares.

We begin to run toward the Pit where Brian, Marcus, and Peter are waiting.

"Brian, let's go," I yell. He turns and follows, with Peter and Marcus following behind.

We follow Uriah and Zeke up the narrow paths leading to the world above. We arrive at the tracks just in time to jump on the train.

One at a time we enter the train car and sit down.

"So, who are you guys?" Zeke asks.

"I'm Tobias," I say. "This is Tris, Brian, and Marcus."

"I met them in Abnegation. They agreed to help me come and stop the simulation," Uriah explains.

"And what is Peter doing here?" Zeke asks.

"He was guarding the Pit when we arrived. He refused to stand down, so Tobias shot him in the shoulder to force him to drop his gun."

Zeke laughs, "Are you sure you don't belong in Dauntless?"

I smile, "Who knows, maybe."

"What do we do now?" Brian asks.

"We get to Amity and find the others. We will come up with a plan from there," I say. I know he wants nothing more than to get to Amity so that he can see that Susan is okay.

"How long until we get to Amity?" Tris asks.

"The ride from Dauntless to the fence is about an hour. We should rest, who knows when we will have another chance to rest again," Uriah says.

The two brothers sit together and talk. Uriah seems to be explaining what happened in Abnegation and what happened to him. Marcus tends to Peter's wound, and Brian leans his head against the wall. He keeps the gun gripped in his hands with the barrel pointed toward Peter ready to fire.

Tris pulls herself on to my lap and lays her head to my chest and sobs. "My parents are both dead. Caleb is gone, his faction is killing ours, I have no more family."

"I'll be your family," I tell her. "I love you. I'll be here for you forever. Your father's final wish was for me to take care of you for the rest of your life."

She smiles and kisses me, "I love you Tobias."

She lays her head into my chest and cries until she falls asleep. I hold her tightly keeping her safe from Marcus and Peter's gaze.


	23. Chapter 23

I don't own anything!

Chapter 23

Tris

I lost my parents today. I lost my faction and my friends. We weren't given a choice. We were executed because someone decided that they didn't like us. They didn't actually know us but that didn't matter. The worst part is a group of people who were turned into mindless zombies were the ones forced to pull the trigger. They weren't given a choice, no one cared that they had no personal vendetta against anyone. They were forced to be the puppet killing machines behind the supposedly more intelligent puppeteers.

Today people woke up to find that they murdered hundreds of people that they never knew. They were the ones that pulled the trigger and took innocent lives. Will they be able to live with themselves when the memories come flooding back to them as they inevitably will? Will the thought drive them mad or will it trigger some innate monster that until now lay dormant?

We ride in silence on a train headed out of the city and to a place that we will never really be welcomed. The only reason for going here is to reunite Brian with Susan. Otherwise I don't think Tobias would have instructed us to go. We will find our friends and ensure that they are safe, and then we will decide what to do from there. We are still going to be hunted. Just because the simulation is over doesn't mean the supposedly intelligent puppeteers are by any means finished.

I lay with my head buried in his chest, his muscular arms wrapped around me, protecting me from the nightmares that will come. Uriah and Zeke move over closer to us so that they can talk to him.

"Do you really think that Amity is the best place for us?" Uriah asks.

"No, I don't. But this is where our Abnegation friends went, I just want to make sure they are okay and see what these people know. After that I think we will need to move on."

"Well, what I would like to know is if there are any Dauntless left. We also have friends somewhere and I doubt that somewhere is Amity," Zeke says.

"I agree, they won't be in Amity. But I would like to know what triggered the attack and why Dauntless leaders agreed to allow their faction to be used like this," Tobias declares.

"You have no idea? You seem like some kind of leader," replies Uriah.

"No, I am not. I'm just someone who works in the control room in Abnegation. Our leaders are older members. Zeke, I was wondering if you remembered anything from before you were put under the simulation?"

"A little," Zeke says. "I was discovered as not being under the simulation. I shot one of our supposed leaders in the leg in an attempt to get away so that I could find Uriah and our friends. I was overwhelmed by Dauntless and taken to Jeanine Matthews in Abnegation headquarters. There she told me that she created a serum that could be used on Divergent and that I was going to be her test subject."

I sit up a little and look from Tobias, to Uriah, and to Zeke. I move from Tobias' lap and sit next to him, our legs touching. "The thing I find interesting about this is that my father had been talking about something important being released to the public following the initiates' trainings in each faction. There was something that the government officials were responsible for that they decided to share with the entire population. Then the day before it is to be released there is an attack that kills most of our government officials, their families, and friends? I don't think that is a coincidence."

They all look at me. Tobias speaks up, "Your father didn't mention what it might have been?"

"No, he only said it would change the way we see the world. What I'm wondering though, is if my father knew, wouldn't Marcus know?"

Tobias looks at me, "I don't know Tris, but I'm not going to be the one to find out. We are going to have to find another way."

I nod. I understand completely. But Uriah and Zeke don't.

"Who is this Marcus? What could he have to do with any of this?" Uriah asks.

"Marcus is an Abnegation leader," Tobias says.

"And he is sitting over there tending to that injured Dauntless traitor," I finish.

Neither Tobias nor I mention any connection between Marcus and Tobias. That is not information that anyone ever need know again.

"Maybe one of us should go and have a talk with him," Zeke suggests.

"I would say that is a good idea, but it needs to wait until we are out of this train and wait until that traitor of yours is either locked in some infirmary somewhere or gone," Tobias says.

Uriah and Zeke agree.

"So how old are you guys? You both seem pretty young," I say.

"Uriah's sixteen, he just passed initiation. He ranked first," Zeke says proudly. "I am eighteen. I work in the control room in Dauntless."

"How about you two?" Uriah says.

"I am eighteen," Tobias says. "Tris is sixteen, she also just finished initiation."

"What was initiation like Uriah? And why are you ranked?" I ask.

"Hard and exhausting. Mentally and physically draining," he answers. "Dauntless ranks the initiates through three stages and only the top ten get to stay. The rest have to leave and become factionless."

So even if I would have chosen Dauntless, there is no way of knowing if I would have been good enough to rank in the top ten. I may have become factionless anyway.

"What is Abnegation like? They don't rank your progress there?" Uriah asks.

"It is exhausting, we are expected to be in the service of others every waking moment. So if we aren't eating or sleeping we are supposed to be doing some kind of community service or something in the service of others." I explain. "We aren't really ranked that we were told, but I'm not sure."

"Actually you are ranked, but no one is expected to leave. The rankings are solely used for job purposes. That is how they determine what job to give you," Tobias says. "The highest ranked are given jobs of choice or government jobs."

"That is kind of the same with us," Zeke says. "Uriah will have choice of any job that he wants since he came in first."

"I would have had choice if this hadn't happened," Uriah says coldly.

We sit quietly for a while. Then Uriah gets a look on his face like he has something to say, "You guys said you are like me. What were your choices and why did you stay in Abnegation?"

Uriah is careful to word the questions just right, in case of prying ears. Divergent is even more dangerous now it seems. Since he already knows about Tobias and me, I find no reason to hide anything. "I was told Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite. I knew there was no way I would ever go to Erudite, I was going to choose Dauntless but my brother transferred. I felt guilty and couldn't leave my parents."

He looks expectantly at Tobias, "I really don't like talking about this, it doesn't feel wise." He sighs and I take his hand, "I was told Abnegation and Dauntless. I stayed for personal reasons." He isn't going to tell just anyone about Marcus. That is a secret that he will keep as long as he possibly can.

"How about you guys," I ask.

"I got Dauntless and Abnegation," Uriah says. "I stayed to be with Zeke."

"I also got Dauntless and Abnegation," Zeke says. "We are the only family that we have left. Our parents were both killed right before my choosing ceremony. I stayed to take care of Uriah."

I realize that if Tobias and I would have chosen differently these guys could have been our friends.

XXX

We arrive at the gates leading to Amity and Uriah announces that we need to jump. Everyone jumps from the moving train one by one. Tobias jumps before me and I watch as he takes a couple steps but never falters. It's almost like it is a natural movement for him. I jump and stumble a little but he catches me and steadies me so I don't fall. Marcus and Brian aren't as lucky. Brian stumbles and falls on his knees and hands. Marcus also falls, and he seems to have injured himself because he begins limping. Peter gets off the train with little difficulty in spite of his shoulder wound.

We walk to the gate, "Aren't there supposed to be Dauntless soldiers guarding the fence?" Marcus asks.

"I guess they were a little busy being forced under a simulation and killing people," Zeke says sarcastically.

I smirk at him and look to Tobias, he smirks also. It is funny to see someone that is not intimidated by Marcus. Between his stature as a government official and his physical stature, he is intimidating.

Marcus purses his lips and doesn't say another word.

"How do we get past the gate?" Brian asks. "And if the others made it, how did they get past the gate?" He is clearly worried about Susan and if she is actually here or not.

Tobias and Zeke speak up at the same time, "I know the password," they say in unison.

We all look from one to the other. "How could you both possibly know the password?" Marcus asks skeptically.

"Well we have both discovered that each of us runs the control rooms in our factions. Dauntless is in charge of changing the password twice a year, and Abnegation is in charge of maintaining the password for the government officials," Tobias explains.

"So obviously we would both know the password, I thought you were a government official. Shouldn't you know how that works?" Zeke says. Sarcasm is something that seems to be commonplace in Dauntless. He walks over to a control panel and punches in the code and the gate opens. Tobias takes my hand and we take the lead as we pass through the gate. Zeke, Uriah and Brian are just behind us with Marcus and Peter bringing the rear.

We near Amity and see a bunch of buildings around the compound. "Where do we go?" Brian asks.

"I know where to go," says Marcus pushing toward the front of the group.

We reluctantly follow him to one of the buildings. He knocks and opens the door.

A woman stands inside, she looks like she has been expecting us.

"Oh Marcus, it is good to see you made it. The rest of your party arrived a couple of hours ago. They are awaiting your arrival in the cafeteria."

She turns to the rest of us, "Hello, my name is Johanna. I am the spokesperson for Amity."

Marcus begins to introduce us, but Tobias cuts him off, "I am Tobias. This is Tris, Uriah, Zeke, Brian, and Peter."

"I would like to welcome you to Amity. I request that all of your weapons be turned over in an effort to maintain peace in our community," Johanna says.

We all hand over the rifles. Tobias notices Uriah reach toward his back and stops him before anyone notices. Uriah gives him a look like he understands what Tobias wants him to do. He wants him to keep the gun, just in case.

"Thank you," Johanna says. "I will have someone lead you to the cafeteria where you can be reunited with your faction. Just a word to the wise, Amity are not going to be happy about a Dauntless presence here. It would be wise to stay to yourselves while here."

She looks from Tobias, to me, Uriah, Brian, and Zeke.

"That's fine," Tobias says, he doesn't say anymore. Zeke looks at him confused but doesn't respond further either.

XXX

We enter the cafeteria and immediately scan the faces for our friends. Brian is the first to spot Susan. He runs to her and lifts her into his arms and kisses her. It is strange to see Abnegation members behave in such a manner, but it is obvious that they have been so worried about each other that they don't care right now.

I see Felicia and Michael sitting together, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her, comforting her. There are others in grey that I don't recognize, and then suddenly there is a familiar face among the crowd. He stands, looks sadly at Susan and Brian then moves toward me.

"Caleb! What are you doing here?" I ask wrapping him in a tight hug.

"I left Erudite when I found out what happened. I went to Abnegation to find you, mom, and dad."

I look sadly at him. I take Caleb's hand and pull him to an empty table. "Caleb, mom and dad are dead. They both died saving me from the Dauntless." Tears sting my eyes; this is the first time I have acknowledged their death since I talked to Tobias on the train.

Caleb looks shocked and tears begin to fall down his face. He buries his head in his arms and weeps. I place my hand on his back and try to comfort him, but there is no real comfort for this pain. We can only accept it and go on living.


	24. Chapter 24

I don't own anything!

Chapter 24

Tobias

We enter the cafeteria and immediately Brian finds Susan. He pulls her into his arms and kisses her without regard for anyone else that is around. I smile at myself because he isn't going to let his Abnegation interfere with his feelings for this girl. He doesn't try to hide anything and doesn't seem to be embarrassed by people looking at him showing her affection. Even Susan, living in Abnegation her whole life, is surprisingly open to the affection, reciprocating his hugs and kisses. I tighten my hold on Tris' hand as she smiles at them. So far this is the extent of our public displays of affection, but it is good enough for me.

Suddenly Tris releases my hand and moves to a boy that is coming toward her. She wraps him in her arms and hugs him tightly and begins to sob. I can't help the twinge of jealousy that I feel for just a moment. Then I realize that this boy is Caleb, her brother. He is kind of tall with light brown hair but he has the same blue/grey eyes that Tris has. She pulls him over to a table and begins to talk to him, telling him what I can only assume to be about their parents. She holds his hand as she talks and I can't help but notice how sensitive and gentle she is. Even though she is suffering over this loss, especially having witnessed both, she is surprising supportive of Caleb's grief. She once told me she doesn't feel like she is selfless enough. She doesn't realize that these are the times when her selflessness is the strongest. When she needs to be brave or worry about someone else is when she is the most selfless. Anyone can do community service and work all of the time for other people, it takes someone truly selfless to step back from themselves during a time of distress and comfort others.

"So what do you guys think?" I ask Zeke and Uriah. "I don't think we are going to be able to stay here long."

"No, I agree. I don't like the idea of being unarmed with Dauntless traitors and Erudite out there killing everyone or putting them under simulations."

"Yeah Tobias, what was up with that in the office? You know, having me keep the gun I have hidden in my belt?" Uriah says this quietly so no one else can really hear.

"Wait, you still have a gun?" Zeke whispers.

"I didn't like the idea of being completely unarmed. Like you said, there are a lot of people out there looking to kill us or put us under a simulation. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Dude, I really think you should have been Dauntless. Normal Abnegation don't think like that. Why didn't you transfer?"

"I don't know. For now, let's just say that if I would have transferred back then, it would have been for cowardly reasons."

They both nod as if they understand what I'm saying and drop it. This is the first time that I think I have ever really had a friend, other than Tris.

Tris comes over to me, she has been crying with Caleb. We retire to the rooms that have been assigned to us but Tris refuses to let me leave her alone.

We crawl into her bed and I wrap my arms around her and pull her tight to me. She kisses me deeply and wraps her arms around my waist pulling as close as she can get to me. The kissing leads to massaging one another all over. She pulls her leg up and wraps it around my waist while she rubs her hands under my shirt across my side and back. My hands find the bare skin under the hem of her shirt and the feel of her soft skin sends a thrill through me. I am going to lose control if we don't stop this soon.

"Tris, we need to stop before something happens that you aren't ready for."

"Who says I'm not ready?" she asks breathlessly.

"Tris, we may both be ready. But this isn't the…"

She cuts me off by pressing her mouth to mine and massaging my tongue with hers. She moves her hands to my chest and down to my abdomen, just above my belt.

I reach my hands under her shirt and glide them up her back and grasp her shoulders. Her shirt is now just below her breasts and she is starting to shiver.

I pull back and look at her, "Tris, I love you. But we need to stop now."

She nods and pulls her shirt back down. She wraps her arm around my waist again and pulls me close and kisses me again.

"I love you, Tobias. What did I do to deserve such a great man in my life?" she whispers.

I smile shyly and kiss her. She buries her face in my chest. I love the feel of her hot breath on me. I fall asleep with her wrapped in my arms.

XXX

I wake the next morning with her still wrapped in my arms. I gently slide my arm out from under her head and crawl out of bed. I leave the room to go to the bathroom for a shower and to find a change of clothes. I guess being in Amity, we may not have much of a choice but to wear red or yellow. I grumble to myself at the thought of wearing those bright colors. I manage to find a pair of jeans and a red shirt that weren't horrible and go to get a shower. While I'm in the hall I see Susan.

"Hello Susan."

"Hello Tobias," she smiles and nods the typical Abnegation greeting.

"Would you be able to help me find clean clothes that will fit Tris so that she can also get cleaned up when she wakes?"

"Oh sure, I have things in my room that the Amity have provided for me that will fit her just fine. I'll go get it and take it to her room."

"Thank you Susan," I smile and walk into the men's shower room.

When I arrive back in the room, Tris is already showered and is brushing out her hair. I love when she leaves her hair out of its typical tight bun. It is long and soft and I love to run my fingers through it. She looks at me and giggles a little.

"Red?" she smirks.

"I know, it is all they had that would fit me."

"Grey is normal, black looked good too, but red is just too… chipper for you."

"Oh really?" I smirk as I tackle her to the bed and straddle her body so she can't move. "Would you like to change your opinion?" I ask as I tickle her into submission.

"No!" she shouts through her giggles.

I stop tickling and lean down and kiss her. She wraps her arms around my neck and holds me there. "Now you are stuck here, I guess we will just have to stay here all day," she says.

"I'd love to, but I just found out that the Amity are meeting in twenty minutes to decide our fate."

"What? They are going to decide if we can stay or if we have to go?"

"Yes, however what they don't know is that Uriah, Zeke, and I are all in agreement that we need to go soon. But their decision will affect the rest of the Abnegation that are here. We may have to find them somewhere else to go."

"When did you three make that decision? I'm glad I was a part of it," she looks at me annoyed.

"I'm sorry, you were talking to your brother when we were discussing what our plans should be. I feel like it is best for us to stick with them and see this thing through. We need to find out what the Abnegation leaders had that they wanted to share with everyone and why Erudite would murder an entire faction to keep it hidden," I explain.

She nods, "I was kind of distracted yesterday."

"I think it wouldn't be normal if you weren't distracted. How are you feeling today?"

"The sadness comes and goes. But I know I have to keep moving. I need to figure out what my parents had that was so important that they would both die to protect it and me. I think we are going to have to speak to Marcus."

"I'm sorry Tris, I am not going to go to him and ask him to tell me anything. If you want to take Uriah or Zeke and question Marcus, be my guest. But I will not be part of the mind games that he will inevitably try to play. That is what he does, plays mind games and tries to bring people down. Regardless, I do not want you meeting with him alone. Okay?"

"Okay," she says. I can hear the reluctance in her voice. But she knows what this man did to me and she respects that I have my reasons for this simple request.

We go to the cafeteria and eat a quick breakfast, avoiding the bread like Brian and Felicia instructed. Then we make our way to the greenhouse for the meeting. We find Zeke and Uriah sitting among the Abnegation. They are also wearing red and looking just as miserable as I am about it.

"Can you believe the only colors they have are these horrible colors?" Uriah scoffs.

The rest of us snicker and agree. "Uriah, could you help me question Marcus later about the files that my father told me about?"

"Sure, but wouldn't it be better if Tobias helped you since you are both from Abnegation, he may be reluctant to tell a Dauntless anything."

"Tobias can't help me with this one," she says without further explanation.

Uriah nods and agrees. They begin talking about how they are going to question him and what they want to ask. Zeke turns to me, "Look man, I know it is none of my business, but I also know that you are avoiding that man for one reason or another. My advice, if you want to get over whatever fear involves that man, you should face it head on. Until you do, you will never get over it."

"What makes you such an expert on fears?" I ask.

"When we go through our initiation we have to make it through three parts. The first part is physical, learning to shoot guns, throw knives, and fight. The second is emotional. We are put under fear simulations and the only way out is to face the fears. The third part is mental. We have to go through our own personal fear landscape and are forced to face our worst fears and either slow our breathing so it moves on or we have to face the fear. So I know quite a bit about facing fears."

"I wonder what my worst fears would be. How many fears do people usually have?" I ask.

"The average is around ten, but last year Uriah only had eight and there was a guy in my initiate class that had twenty. Maybe if we get out of all of this, I can bring you Dauntless and let you go through your fear landscape so you can see what your fears are."

I nod. So the only way to get over my fears of Marcus is to face the fear head on. I just don't know if I'm ready to do that yet.

XXX

The meeting begins with Johanna standing in the middle of the room and addressing the entire community. "The question posed to us today deals with the attack on Abnegation by Erudite and Dauntless. We need to figure out what we are willing to do as a peace loving community to help those that were forced to leave their homes and how we are going to involve ourselves in this tragedy."

All of the sudden, the room erupts in chatter. Large groups begin to debate, each member voicing their opinion and arguing their point of view.

"Is this seriously the way things are done here?" Tris asks.

"Really, how do they get anything accomplished," Uriah agrees.

"Each person has an equal part in the decision making. It makes them more responsible and more active in the government. I think it is actually beautiful."

Zeke, Uriah, and Tris all look at me with puzzled expressions. "What?" I ask with a smirk.

"Beautiful, huh? I thought you belonged in Dauntless, not Amity!" Zeke says.

"We are going to be here forever," Tris complains.

She was right, the debates between the large groups too an hour and a half, then the large groups broke into smaller groups which debated the decisions of the larger groups which took another hour. Finally four members and Johanna stood at the center of the room and continued the debate which took another hour and a half. So four hours later we are finally give their decision.

"Our decision is as follows, Amity will be a safe haven for all factions who need safety and security during these trying times. We have a very close relationship with Erudite, so we will reporting that we have refugees staying with us and will inform them of our decision to remain a neutral site providing sanctuary to any and all who need it. We wish to remind some of our guests that there are to be no weapons in our compound, so any weapons must be turned over or your forfeit your right to stay here. Our top priority is for peace for all of our members and guests. Also if there are any confrontations, the guilty parties will be held accountable as all Amity are and may be asked to leave. Also any discussions about the war are strictly prohibited in the compound."

We all just sit there and listen to this. She is going to inform Erudite of our presence in this compound, she is going to get us killed. Tris leans into me, "You guys were right, we need to get out of here, soon."

When the meeting is over, the four of us return to Tris' room to discuss our options. We apparently aren't supposed to discuss any of it, but we need to have a plan.

"Uriah, where is the simulation disk?" Tris asks.

"It is hidden in my room, why?" Uriah asks.

"Just wondering, wanted to make sure it is safe. It is our only proof of what happened to Abnegation."

He nods, "I'll go get it. We should probably keep it on us from now on."

Uriah leaves for his room and Zeke, Tris, and I decide that we are going to leave tomorrow. We will extend an invitation to the rest of Abnegation to go with us if they choose.

There is a loud bang in the hall way and then I can hear Uriah shouting at someone. Zeke and I rush out of the room and find Uriah and Peter struggling in the middle of the hallway. We rush over and Zeke grabs Uriah and I grab Peter. I slam Peter into the wall and push my arm to his throat. It amazes me how things like this come naturally to me.

"Peter was in my room, he has the disk," Uriah shouts trying to get at Peter.

I reach into his pocket in his shirt and retrieve the disk. Just then two Amity security come down the hall. One of the Amity girls tells them about the fight and Uriah's involvement. They accused Uriah of being the instigator.

"He was in my room snooping through my things and I'm the instigator?" Uriah shouts.

"Just go with them," Zeke instructs. "Cool down for a while."

"What are you going to do with Peter?" I ask the men. "He was clearly the one that started the situation."

"Johanna will deal with him," they say.

Zeke turns to me, "We have to leave tomorrow no matter what now."

I nod in agreement.

**Okay, please let me know if this is going okay. I'm curious about your opinions.**

**Thanks,**

**Zariah**


	25. Chapter 25

I don't own anything!

Chapter 25

Tris

We go down the hall to find Uriah when we hear singing coming out of his room.

"What is that?" I ask.

"Sounds like a dying cat," Zeke says confused.

We push open the door and see Uriah there. He comes toward me and brings me into a bear hug. Tobias clears his throat behind me, but I can't get out of Uriah's grip.

"Hey girl! How ya doin?" Uriah yells in my ear. He releases me and I fall back into Tobias. He stares daggers at Uriah and has a fierce scowl on his face. I've never seen him look this scary before. He could be terrifying to someone that doesn't know him.

Zeke looks at his brother, "What is wrong with you? What did they do to you?"

"I donno," Uriah say bobbing his head back and forth. "They took me into this room and stuck me in the neck with something they called peace serum. It's all good!"

He lunges at me again to hug me, "I want to hug the pretty girl." He looks at Zeke, "Do you think her big scary boyfriend will mind?" Then he looks up and sees Tobias glaring at him, "Oh, there you are big scary boyfriend, can I hug your girlfriend?" Tobias scowls at him. "I guess that means you don't want me to hug her? But she's so pretty and huggable." He releases me and he looks out the door, Felicia is standing there talking to an Amity girl. "Hey look, pretty girl!" Uriah yells and runs out of the room and pulls Felicia into his arms. "Hello there pretty girl, can I hug you?" The three of us file out of the room and toward Uriah and Felicia. He has her in a death grip in the middle of the hallway.

Felicia looks at me, "Did he get peace serum?"

I nod, "It would appear that way."

She laughs, "You just have to go with it. He will be back to normal soon."

"What should we do? We can't just let him go around hugging every girl in Amity," Zeke says.

"I don't want to hug any more girls, just this one," he smiles and winks at Felicia. "Pretty girl, do you have a boyfriend?"

Felicia looks down sadly, "No."

"I'm sorry pretty girl," Uriah says too happy. "Do you want a hug? Oh, wait. I'm already hugging you. Do you want a tighter hug?"

Felicia giggles a little, "No this hug is just fine."

"Okay," Uriah says and continues to hug Felicia.

Zeke seems to have had enough, "Okay Uri, time to let the pretty girl go."

Uriah releases his grip on Felicia, "Bye pretty girl… Oh look, pretty girl!" He comes at me again and just before he can wrap me in another bear hug, Tobias steps in the way. Uriah wraps his arms around Tobias' waist and looks at him. "Hey wait a minute, you're not a pretty girl. I want to hug the pretty girl."

"No more hugs for you," Zeke says pealing his brother from Tobias and dragging him back to his room.

Felicia and I start laughing hysterically. Tobias just looks at us like we are crazy. "That didn't bother you two?" he asks.

"What girl wouldn't want to be called a '_pretty girl_' and have a hot boy hug her," Felicia says.

"Oh really? Is that so Beatrice?" Tobias says with a smirk. He pulls me into his arms, "Come-on '_pretty girl_' let's go get something to eat," he places a kiss on my cheek. "Come-on, you too '_pretty girl_'," he says gesturing to Felicia. "Time for lunch." We walk down the hall, both of us girls in Tobias' arms. I should be jealous, but I'm not. Felicia doesn't worry me anymore.

We get to the cafeteria and he releases Felicia as we enter the room. Him being silly for a moment in a secluded hall is one thing, but he would never behave that way in public. The three of us find our seats at the table and Tobias offers to go and get our lunch for us. So Felicia and I sit together and wait.

"You know Tris, you are pretty lucky. Tobias is a great guy."

"Thanks," I say.

"I must admit, I had my eye on him during initiation. It's hard not to notice him. But it didn't take much to see that he only ever had eyes for you. From the first day of initiation you could see it."

"Really? I didn't."

"That is because you weren't paying attention. You were being a proper Abnegation girl. But he had eyes only for you from the beginning. I tried to get him to notice me once or twice, but then I noticed that he always seemed to pair the two of you up. He never even gave me a second glance."

I don't know what to say. She was being so sweet. "How are you doing, being back here and with everything else?"

"I was happy to see my family and I'm really sad that Andrew is gone. We will never be able to see if there was anything more than friendship there. He was a really nice guy."

"What about Michael?" I ask.

"He is great. And I could really like him. I just can't tell if he feels the same way or not. It is so hard to tell with Abnegation guys. Tobias is an open book when it comes to you. He can't seem to hide his feelings for you no matter how hard he tries. Even during initiation, I could tell he was trying to hide it. But I knew. Michael isn't as open."

"Maybe he is trying to keep a respectful distance because of Andrew," I say.

"I don't know, maybe. What about the huggie guy, Uriah? What's up with him? He is pretty cute too."

"He's Dauntless, I don't know about girlfriends or anything like that."

"He's flirty, I'd bet there is a girl somewhere waiting for him. He's too cute for there not to be."

Tobias returns with our food and Michael is in tow. They sit down, Tobias next to me and Michael next to Felicia. He hands her a tray of food, a drink, and napkin. When he hands her the napkin, their hands graze one another and he blushes slightly. I smile because what was so noticeable about Tobias to Felicia, I can see in the way Michael interacts with her. He definitely likes her, but his Abnegation tells him that he needs to keep a respectable distance because she is grieving.

"Hey Felicia, could you help me with something?" I ask.

"Sure Tris, what's up?"

"Come with me for a minute."

We exit the cafeteria and I lead her to the ladies room. "He likes you. He is trying to keep a safe distance out of respect."

"Really? How do you know?"

"I guess the same way as you knew about Tobias."

"Okay, then I should let him know somehow that it is okay."

I turn to walk out. Felicia grabs my arm, "Wait, you said you needed help with something, they are going to question."

"Well, what should we do?" I ask.

"I have an idea, do you trust me?"

"Sure…" I say hesitantly. "What do you have in mind?"

"I just want to take your hair down and let it hang. I've seen the way Tobias looks at you when your hair is down before bed. He likes it that way."

She takes my hair out of the complicated bun that I have it in. She runs her fingers through it, releasing any knots. The waves encircle my shoulders and run down my back.

"Okay, let's go back," she says.

We get back to the table and I can't help but notice how big Tobias' eyes get when he sees me. I've never thought I was very pretty, but he makes me feel pretty. Especially when I am the only girl he notices. Felicia sits back down next to Michael, a little closer than she did before. They talk and graze hands a couple times throughout lunch. He looks at her longingly as they talk. Eventually, she gets bold and takes his hand in hers and laces her fingers with his. He looks shocked but pleased.

We finish lunch and say goodbye to Michael and Felicia. We decide to go to see how Uriah is doing. We knock on the door and Zeke answers.

"Is he back to normal?" Tobias asks.

"Yeah, come in," Zeke says.

"Tris, Tobias, I am so sorry for hugging her like that. I didn't know what I was doing."

"Its fine man," Tobias says smiling. "Just don't get any bright ideas."

"No, no ideas! I have a girlfriend," Uriah says.

We all smile. "How ridiculous was I?" Uriah asks.

"You kept calling me and Felicia '_pretty girl_' and wouldn't stop hugging us. It wasn't anything more than hugs, purely innocent and actually kind of sweet. But you hug too hard and you almost crushed me," I say the last part firmly with a giggle.

He smiles sarcastically, "So Tobias, was the hug as good for you as it was for me?"

Tobias snickers, "Oh yeah, I loved those big meaty claws groping my back!"

Zeke laughs, "I don't know Tris you might have some competition."

"Oh, I doubt it. I bet my hugs are better than Uriah's!"

"I don't know Tris, is arms were pretty firm," Tobias says with a snicker.

I shake my head. There is no way I am going to win with three boys in the room. All three of them start laughing hysterically to the point that they can't breathe. I laugh at them because they are all being ridiculously silly. I decide to try to get things back on track.

"So," I say loudly over the laughter trying obviously to change the subject and bring them back to reality. "What now?"

They start to calm down a little. At this point I don't even think that they know what they are laughing about. "Did you guys eat the bread or something?" I ask.

They laugh ever more while shaking their heads. I glare at all of them but I can't hold a straight face with them being so silly.

They calm down enough to talk.

"We need to talk to all of the Abnegation tonight and let them know that we are leaving tomorrow." Tobias says through his gasping for breath and trying to calm down.

"I think it would be best to head to Candor. It is my understanding that most of the loyal Dauntless are being housed at Candor for now," Zeke adds still snickering.

"Yes, it would be best to be where the weapons and where the best fighters and marksmen are right now." Uriah finishes with a giggle.

"Yeah, because your Dauntless friends wouldn't be completely freaked out by how goofy you two are being right now," I say through a giggle.

"No, they wouldn't be freaked out, they would just hit us until we stop," Zeke says.

"Had lots of experience with that?" I ask.

"Yes we have," Uriah exclaims.


	26. Chapter 26

I don't own anything!

Chapter 26

Tobias

We head down to the cafeteria once Zeke, Uriah, and I calm down. We decided that it would be best to leave tomorrow. Once we enter the cafeteria, we find the Abnegation are all seated at the same table with Marcus sitting at the head. We stride over and immediately I have a feeling of dread because I need to address this group with Marcus glaring at me. But Zeke is right, if I'm ever going to get over this fear, I have to face it head on and it's now or never.

Tris takes my hand and squeezes lightly. Zeke smacks my back, "You are a scary dude when you want to be, show him."

I nod and approach the table. Marcus glares at me and I begin to get angry, angrier than I think I have ever been. My face turns hard and I can feel the anger and hostility building inside of me. I stare Marcus in the eyes, "We have decided to leave here tonight." Tris, Uriah, and Zeke look at me confused. But I just have a feeling that we need to leave here tonight and not waste anymore time. "We are going to go to Candor to find out what they know and to see if that is where the rest of the Abnegation and Dauntless are staying. Anyone is welcome to come with us. We will be leaving just after midnight. Meet us in the orchard if you wish to come with us."

"Why should we leave here?" Marcus says. "We are safe here."

"If you think you are safe with a bunch of people who aren't going to fight and who have let the Erudite know where you are hiding, then stay here and face your fate. It is no bother to me. It is your choice." My voice stays hard and even.

Marcus glares at me. This is the look he has given me my whole life. The look used to terrify me and make me cower. Today, I look at him and all I see is a cowardly old man who is pathetic. I harden my stare and he averts his eyes. For the first time in my life, I have stood up to that glare. I have finally found the strength to not fear him anymore.

I turn on my heels and walk away with Zeke, Uriah, and Tris following behind.

"What do you mean we are leaving tonight?" Tris asks.

"I just have a feeling that we need to get out of here, soon."

"Let's get ourselves together and make a plan then," Zeke says.

"I think the first thing we need to do is raid the cafeteria for food and water to take with us. Also we need to get some kind of backpacks or something to carry the supplies we need," Uriah says.

We all nod in agreement and spilt up to find what we need to prepare to get out of here.

XXX

"Let's go guys, it is five minutes to midnight, we need to go," Uriah says.

Tris and I gather the bags that we found. She located some clothes and other supplies and packs them into her bag. In my bag I have food, water, and some pain medication and other types of medication just in case. I also managed to retrieve the weapons that we came here with, so at least we are armed.

We meet Uriah and Zeke in the hall outside of our rooms. I hand them the rifles and we begin our trek to the orchard.

"How did you get our guns back?" asks Uriah.

"Let's just say, I have a way with locks," I say without any further explanation.

They look at me, "See I told you, you belong in Dauntless," Zeke says.

I just smirk, maybe after all this is over Tris and I can just disappear into Dauntless and no one would notice.

Once outside we are met by Felicia, Michael, Susan, and Brian. They are all carrying bags on their back full of supplies. Soon Caleb and the other Abnegation arrive, Marcus being one of them. I glare at him, "What are you doing here? I thought you were safe here."

"I am, but my faction wants to leave, so I am leaving," he responds staring at me.

"What is the plan?" Brian asks.

"We are going to make our way through the orchard and to the fence. We need to stay out of site of the road. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves," Zeke explains. "Stay low and quiet, if you see any movement, stop and hold still until Tobias or I tell you to move. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone nods.

"Okay then, let's move," I say.

Somehow it seems that Zeke and I have taken the leadership roles in this group. We begin to guide the group of about fourteen people through the orchard. When we have just about reached the fence, we see lights in the distance getting closer. They are headlights and they are approaching quickly.

"Everyone freeze and get low," I command.

We all stop and I pull Tris to me to keep her safe. We watch as several cars pass through the gate and drive quickly down the road toward Amity.

We hear shouting and gunshots in the distance.

"Tobias, we need to get to the other side of the fence and to the train. It is our only hope of putting distance between ourselves and those cars," Zeke says.

I nod in agreement.

"We need to go fast," Zeke says loudly enough for everyone to hear him. "We need to get through the gate and to the tracks. The train will be arriving in ten minutes."

"Wait, we have to jump on a train," one of the Abnegation people say.

"If you want to get out of here and live, then yes," I respond. I stand with Tris in my arms, together we start to run toward the gate. The sounds of shouting and gunshots sound through the night and we run faster. They sound like they are getting closer; I think we are being pursued.

A gunshot sounds and I hear the bullet cut through the air. They are gaining on us. Another shot and I hear someone cry out behind me and fall to the ground. Tris tries to stop but I pull her forward toward the fence.

A few more shots and more cries of pain but we never stop or look back. We make it through the gate and Zeke runs to the control panel as I lead the rest toward the tracks and away from the fence, from the danger. The gate closes, leaving the shooters behind. They continue to shoot at us but we are too far away now.

We make it to the train with only moments to spare. The train is coming quickly. Uriah runs alongside of one of the cars and pulls himself in effortlessly. Next Tris runs and Uriah grabs her arm and pulls her in with him. Next Zeke and I pull ourselves in and begin to pull in the rest of our group, only there isn't much of a group left. I look around to find that there are four Abnegation missing. They must be the ones that got shot. We pull in the rest and they all go and sit down.

"We are going to be here for a while," Zeke yells over the wind. "I suggest that we all get some rest while we can."

I lead Tris over to a corner of the train and pull her down to the floor with me. She sits on my lap and hugs me. Around the car there are sounds of weeping and sadness, but Tris doesn't shed a tear. I pull her close to me and hold her tightly. Zeke and Uriah come to sit near us.

"We have a problem this train does not go all the way to Candor, we are going to have to walk," Zeke says.

"It might be a good thing though," says Uriah. "It might throw off anyone that might be following us."

"I doubt we are being followed there is no way they could tell where we went once we got through gates. But yeah, I guess it will be fine," Zeke says.

"We need to rest, how long before we reach our destination?" I ask Zeke and Uriah.

"About forty five minutes. Why don't you, Tris, and Zeke rest, I'll keep watch and wake you when we are close. I slept a lot once I came down from the peace serum."

We all snicker at him remembering how funny he was while on peace serum. "Okay," Zeke says.

He leans his head against the wall and is quickly sleeping. Tris leans into my chest and nestles her head into the crook of my neck. Her warm breaths on my bare neck send chills through my body. I lean in and kiss her on the cheek, "I love you, Tris."

She smiles with her eyes closed, "I love you too, Tobias."

XXX

"Guys, time to get up. We gotta jump in ten minutes," Uriah says.

We all stir and begin to sit up. I stand and stretch then pull Tris up with me. Zeke rubs the sleep from his eyes and tries to focus outside. It is still pitch black outside; the sun won't rise for several more hours. We gather our packs and pull ourselves together.

Zeke turns to the others in the car, "We will be jumping in a couple minutes. Make sure that when you jump you get a little bit of a running start, wouldn't want anyone to get sucked under the train."

He says this in a very matter of fact manner, but everyone who hasn't done this before looks terrified.

Everyone stands and prepares to jump. Uriah goes first and makes it look effortless, next Zeke, followed by Tris and I together. The others follow behind us and thankfully we have no causalities, just a bunch of scrapped up Abnegation.

We begin the walk to Candor. Everyone is tired and beat-up from the past couple days of terror. When we arrive we are greeted by armed Dauntless guards.

"What is going on here," Zeke asks.

"We were instructed to place you under arrest if you showed up here," the first guard said.

"For what reason?" Uriah asks.

"We have reason to believe that he was running the simulation and that you and this man here assisted him," the guard said gesturing to me and Uriah.

"What do you mean? They stopped the simulation!" Tris exclaims.

They take Zeke, Uriah, and me and lock us in a small room to await our trial by truth serum. The hours move slowly as we sit in this room with no windows or clock. I am worried about Tris, I don't like being away from her, especially when Marcus is around. He doesn't like that we are together and I'm afraid he will hurt her.

"Do you think we will be able to fight this serum like we can the simulation serum?" Zeke asks.

"I don't know, I had no control over the peace serum," Uriah says.

"I think you could have had control over the peace serum if you wanted to," I say.

"You think I wanted to act like a fool?" Uriah asks angrily.

"No, I don't. But I do think the idea of feeling good for just a little while after what we have gone through might make you a little reluctant to fight it. Just trying to feel something other than terror, sadness, exhaustion, and whatever other horrible feeling are boiling under the surface. I think who wouldn't want to let go for just a little while."

"Maybe," Uriah says. "It's not like I have some deep dark secret, I just don't want to spill everything inside of me. It is mine, and should stay mine."

I agree with him completely. I don't want everyone to know my deepest secrets, but I guess I don't have much of a choice. I will try to fight the serum.

Finally the time arrives for the three of us to be taken to the room where they administer the truth serum. We enter the room and most of Candor, and the Dauntless and Abnegation that are staying here are present in this room. So everyone is going to hear about our deepest, darkest secrets, great!

"My name is Nigel, I will be asking you questions today. Just a little explanation about what is going to happen. We will inject you with the truth serum it will take a couple moments for the serum to take effect. Once it takes effect we will begin to ask you some simple questions, then we will move into more difficult questions. Do you understand?"

None of us respond, it is pretty cut and dry. There is no need for further explanation.

"First we will call Zeke," Nigel says.

Zeke walks to the front of the room and sits in the chair. Nigel injects the serum into his neck and waits a few moments.

"Zeke are you ready?" Nigel asks.

"Yes," Zeke growls.

"What is your full name?"

"My name is Zeke."

"Your full name Zeke," Nigel says.

Zeke growls in frustration, he is trying to fight the serum but it doesn't seem like he is going to win this battle.

"Zeke Marshall."

"Thank you Zeke. Now, you are from Dauntless?"

"Yes."

"And you were Dauntless born?"

"Yes."

"Good Zeke, now we are going to get into the day of the attack, can you tell us about being under the simulation?"

"I wasn't under the simulation, at first. It didn't work."

"What do you mean, it didn't work?" Niles scoffs.

"I mean that it didn't work on me. I woke up that day to the sound of all the Dauntless marching as one through the compound."

"What did you do?" asked Niles.

"I pretended to be under the simulation so I could find my brother and so the Dauntless leaders wouldn't notice me."

"And did you find your brother?"

"No."

"You said you weren't under the simulation at first, what changed?"

"We were standing outside of one of the Abnegation homes and one of the leaders went in and dragged a young girl out of the house and was prepared to shoot her in the head for no reason. I couldn't let this girl die right in front of me without doing something, so I shot the leader in the leg and attempted to run. They caught me and took me to Jeanine Matthews who said she developed a serum that works on Divergents and that I was going to be the first to test it for her. She injected me with is and it changed the way I saw everything. When I looked at the guards that were holding me, they looked like my friends. When my brother found me, he looked like my worst enemy."

"Are you saying you are Divergent?"

"Yes."

"And what is Divergent Zeke?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is that I am aware during simulations or sometimes they don't even work on me."

"In the control room it looked like you were running the simulation. Were you?"

"Apparently under the simulation, I was. As soon as the simulation was broken, I helped to remove the control disk so the simulation could not be started again."

"What brought you out of the simulation?"

"My brother, Uriah."

"And who stopped the simulation attack on Abnegation?"

"An Abnegation guy, Tobias."

"One last question Zeke, what is your biggest regret?"

Zeke pauses, "Not having the courage to shoot the leader in the head as opposed to his leg. That might have made things stop faster."

"Thank you for your honesty, Zeke."


	27. Chapter 27

I don't own anything!

Chapter 27

Tris

Next they call Uriah to the chair. He looks nervous. He doesn't want to have to admit to anything like Zeke did.

Zeke is looking a little worn out. He probably tried to fight the serum since he is Divergent. This serum must be more difficult to manipulate. Although Uriah couldn't fight the peace serum either.

Nigel injects Uriah with the serum and begins to ask him the same types of questions that he asked Zeke. Like his name, his faction, and his family.

"Now Uriah, tell me about the simulation."

"I was never under the simulation. I only pretended to be to protect myself and to try to find Zeke."

"Why weren't you under the simulation?"

"I am Divergent."

"You are also Divergent?"

"Yes, that is what I said" Uriah snaps.

"Calm down Uriah. Do you know what Divergent is?"

"No, I just know that I always know when I'm in a simulation and sometimes it doesn't even work on me."

"When you were looking for Zeke, did you find him?"

"Not until I got back to Dauntless."

"How did you know he was in Dauntless?"

"I heard the leaders talk about how he shot Eric in the leg and was put under a new simulation and taken back to the control room to monitor the simulation," Uriah explains.

"How did you get back to Dauntless?"

"I followed a bunch of Dauntless into a building and hid in the basement until they left. There I found a bunch of Abnegation that were hiding. They helped me get out and told me which way to go to get to the tracks."

"Is that when you went to Dauntless?" Niles asks.

"No," Uriah explains. "I found more Abnegation hiding in the weeds and told them where the others were hiding. I didn't make it to the train, so I went back to the basement where they were hiding. A couple of them decided to help me stop the simulation and came with me when it was time for the next train to come."

"Who were these people?"

"A guy named Tobias, a girl named Tris, a guy named Brian, and two old men that I didn't know."

"What happened when you reached your brother?"

"We fought and I pleaded with him to see me. When nothing seemed to be working, I gave myself over to him. I couldn't kill my brother. This must have confused him because he came out of the simulation."

"What happened when you entered the room where the computers were?"

"Tobias had already shut down the simulation and was trying to get the data disk out of the computer so it couldn't be started again."

"Where is the data disk now?"

"I have it here," Uriah says holding it up.

There is a collective gasp. We actually have the proof of the involvement of the Dauntless leaders and the Erudite. Uriah placed the disk back where he had it for safe keeping.

"Last question Uriah, what is your greatest regret?"

"My greatest regret is that I didn't tell Marlene that I love her before initiation was over."

I sit there in shock. I don't even know what to think about all of this. So far Uriah and Zeke's secrets weren't so horrible. I know they didn't want to admit to being Divergent, but that is because it is dangerous to be Divergent.

Tobias is called next. He is injected with the serum and Niles begins asking questions.

"What is your name?"

"Tobias."

"Your full name Tobias."

"Does it matter?"

It seems that he is trying very hard to fight this simulation.

"Yes, it matters Tobias. Please stop trying to fight the serum and answer the question. What is your last name?"

He pauses and you can see the struggle in his face. "Eaton."

"Are you Marcus Eaton's son?"

"Why is this relevant?" Tobias asks.

"Maybe it wasn't relevant before, Tobias, but it is now that you have resisted answering the question. Is Marcus Eaton your father?"

"Yes," he growls.

"Your faction is Abnegation?"

"Yes."

"Now I wish to discuss the day of the attack. Where were you that you were not killed or taken prisoner?"

"My girlfriend and I were at the Pier."

"Who is this girlfriend?"

"Beatrice Prior."

"When you returned from the Pier, what happened?"

"We heard shouting and gun fire. We hid in the weeds behind our houses. We ran into Uriah there and he told us where other Abnegation were hiding and that he was going to try to stop the simulation."

"What happened next?"

"We found some of our friends and made our way to where the others were hiding. We watched as a group of Dauntless murdered Tris' mother then we found her father. Uriah found us and said he couldn't get to the trains alone, he was almost caught. So Tris, Brian, and I decided to go with him to help him shut it down."

"Uriah mentioned two older men that accompanied you, do you know who they were?"

"Andrew Prior and Marcus Eaton."

"And what happened to them?"

"Andrew Prior was killed while trying to distract Dauntless traitors so Uriah, Beatrices and I could get to the control room. Marcus Eaton is in this room, so obviously he survived."

"Did you shut down the simulation?"

"Yes."

"One final question Tobias, what is you greatest regret?"

"Allowing my father to abuse me throughout my whole life. Also that I thought it would be cowardice to leave Abnegation to get away from him. I should have left Abnegation to become Dauntless like I had intended."

Once the interrogation had ended, Tobias, Zeke, and Uriah decided they were ready to sleep. They all fought hard against the serum with little or no effect. The fight they put up and the emotion of the day exhausted them all.

We found beds in the room that the Dauntless took over and the three guys passed out for a while.

XXX

I found myself wandering around aimlessly until I found Caleb sitting in the cafeteria moping.

"Hey Caleb, what's up?" I ask.

"Since when are you dating Tobias Eaton?" he asks.

"We started dating during initiation, about a week or so after it started."

"And what did mom and dad have to say?"

"They were fine with it. Tobias told dad that he wanted to marry me someday. Dad defended Tobias to his father telling him that Tobias was his family now too."

"And what about Susan and this guy?" he asks sadly.

"Susan met him during initiation also, they became friends then he broke through the wall she had built after you left. Look Caleb, I know you had feelings for her, but you left her. She is happy now. She was depressed and cried for weeks after you left. Brian was gentle and kind and made her feel happy again. You can't take that away from her."

"I know, I just can't believe how badly I screwed up."

"You did what you thought you had to do, there is nothing wrong with that."

"Do you love Tobias?" he asks me.

"Yes I do, with all my heart."

He nods and gives me a hug. "Okay, I'm happy for you."

I stand and leave the cafeteria.

I return to where Tobias, Zeke, and Uriah were sleeping. When I enter the room I see the three of them sitting around talking to some Dauntless. I go to Tobias and sit next to him. He immediately takes my hand in his and laces his fingers with mine.

Uriah speaks up, "Tris, this is Marlene, Lynn, Shauna, Lauren, Will, and Christina. Everyone this is Tris."

They all say hi to me and smile. "So Tris, are you as unAbnegation as Tobias here is?" Christina asks.

"She sure is, she didn't even hesitate when I handed her a rifle and told her how to use it. She is Dauntless through and through."

"Uriah said you were going to transfer but didn't because you didn't want to leave your parents with no children, is that true?" asks Marlene.

"Yeah, well I felt it would be wrong to leave them."

"You do know that you might not even have made it through initiation. It's not like it's easy," Lynn says.

"If it were easy, then it wouldn't be worth it, would it?" I ask.

All the Dauntless hoot and holler around us. Tobias squeezes my hand a little and smiles.

"So Zeke, Tobias, what are we going to do?" I ask.

"I'm not sure, but we need to figure something out. Just like Amity, we can't stay here forever," Zeke responds.

"Yeah, I have a feeling this place is going to be just as dangerous as Amity was," Tobias says.

"Can't we go back to Dauntless?" Marlene asks.

"I doubt it," Zeke says. "That place has more cameras in it than anywhere else."

"What if we could dismantle the cameras or jam them somehow?" Tobias asks. "I'd be happy to help you figure out how to do that."

"We will have to think about that," Zeke says smiling.

"Why don't we just shoot the cameras with paintballs," Uriah says.

They actually seem to think about that for a moment. "That could work," Tobias says.

We sit around and laugh for a long time. I have never felt this comfortable or happy around a group of people in my life. The girls help me to find clothes that fit me. Christina and Marlene take me to the girls' bathroom and do a makeover on me. I was reluctant because these clothes are all black and more revealing than anything I have ever worn before. I have never worn make-up or shown my body in tight clothes before. But when we return to the room where we are sleeping, I can't help but I love the way Tobias looks at me in my new clothes.

I walk over to him and he puts his arms around me. "Wow Tris, you look beautiful," he says kissing me passionately. "Let's take a walk."

I nod quickly and we lace our fingers and leave the room.

"You look absolutely amazing," he says. He hasn't taken his eyes off of me since I entered the room. "Although I still think I like your little camisole and tight shorts better," he says with a smirk. I smile and stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek.

"Maybe someday you'll get to see them again," I try to be flirty, but I think I'm failing. Then he suddenly stops, he turns me to him and wraps his hands around my thighs and picks me up in front of him. He kisses me passionately as I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. The kiss deepens and becomes more enthusiastic and more desperate as his hands find the bare skin under the back of my shirt. He holds me tightly and presses me against the wall behind us. We only stop for a moment to breathe when he is suddenly ripped from me and I fall to the floor.

His father has him by the throat against the wall. He has an insane look in his eyes and his belt in his hand.

"So you had to tell the world about how abusive I am. How would you like to see real abuse Tobias?" he says.

I move over to them and attempt to loosen his grip on Tobias' throat, but he just shoves me away and I fall to the ground again and hit my head off of the wall. I hit my head so hard that I can't see as crisply as before. The world is blurry. I try to blink the fuzziness away but have little luck. I can already feel the lump forming on the back of my head.

Before I realize what happened, Marcus is on the floor with a broken nose and jaw. Tobias stands over him and kicks him in the side and stomach, over and over. I stand and go to Tobias and gently touch his arm. He seems to snap out of his fury and pulls me into a hug.

"If you ever touch her or me again, you won't live to see another day. Do you understand, Marcus?"

Marcus lays there and groans.

We are surrounded by Dauntless hooting and hollering.

"I knew you had it in you, man," Zeke says. "I told you he belongs in Dauntless!" he says to his friends.


	28. Chapter 28

I don't own anything!

Chapter 28

Tobias

I got over one of my worst fears today. The fear that Marcus would hurt Tris overpowered the fear I had of him. For the first time I feel like I am free of him and I can move on with my life and begin a new one. Zeke says that the fear landscape that the Dauntless uses shows each individual their fears. I know that Marcus would have been one of them at first, but now I think I may have gotten over that fear and it would probably be replaced by something else. Some other fear that is worse than Marcus, loosing Tris. In one way or another, I am afraid to lose her.

We congregate in the room that the Dauntless have taken as their own. Tris and I have been accepted into their group since I faced my fear and beat up Marcus. I also believe that it is a result of Zeke's acceptance of us. Most of them seem to respect Zeke and what he has to say.

"We need to go and check out what Erudite and Dauntless are doing, we can't just sit here and wait to be attacked," Uriah says.

"We can go to the Hancock building and spy on them," Marlene adds.

Most agree, but I don't. The idea of going out and risking being caught for what will amount to little or no information is not worth the risk.

"What do you think you will accomplish by spying on them from across the street? Whatever they are planning and preparing will not be outside, it will be inside. Probably on computers in the depths of the compound where prying eyes will not be able to reach, unless we have spies to infiltrate their compound," Zeke says.

"Recklessly risking lives when we should be coming up with a plan to infiltrate the compound is pointless," I add.

"What are you two sharing a brain?" Uriah asks.

"Maybe we are, at least it is a fully functional brain," Zeke says. "We are thinking things out as opposed to reacting."

"How very Erudite of you," Marlene says.

"I still think it would be worthwhile to at least see what kind of security they have around the compound," Uriah says.

"Okay, maybe that would be useful. What are you planning on doing?" Zeke asks.

"I think we need to take a small group to the Hancock building and just observe the outside of their compound," Uriah explains.

"That's it?" Tris asks.

"What more do we need? We are just trying to see what their security is outside of the compound."

"Okay, who is going to go?" I ask.

"Well me," Uriah says. "Marlene, Shauna, Lynn, Tris, and Zeke."

"Wait, Tris?" I look at Tris and she looks terrified. She didn't volunteer for this, Uriah apparently is volunteering her. But I know her; she won't back down from this. She is going to go just to prove that she can. "I don't think that is a good idea, she isn't Dauntless trained like the rest of you."

"I'll be fine, Tobias," she says. "Besides, I won't be alone."

"I'll take care of her, man," Zeke says.

I scowl. I don't want to let her do this. But I can see the new look of determination in her face. She wants to do this.

She takes my hand and leads me away from everyone else. We go into the hall and she stops and turns to me, "Look I know you don't want me to do this. And I can't honestly say that I would have volunteered for this, but I feel like I need to do this. They have accepted you as one of their own. You have proven to them that you are a leader, Dauntless. I have not done anything that would be considered Dauntless, except be with you. I need to prove that I also belong with them, with you."

"Tris, you don't need to prove anything. You especially don't need to do anything this dangerous just to try to fit in."

"Yes, I do," I can hear the frustration in her voice. "I can't be looked at like I'm weak. Please don't try to make me feel like I can't do this. I need to do this."

"So you are going to risk your life for no reason? Tris, this is ridiculous. There is no reason to risk your life for something that is pointless. I can tell you now that Erudite have Dauntless guarding the building and they have cameras and security measures in place all over their compound."

"Tobias, I am going. I'm sorry if you don't understand this, but I am going regardless," she turns away from me and walks back to the dorm room.

I turn in the opposite direction and walk to the cafeteria. I just can't be part of this. I don't understand why she feels the need to risk her life for no reason. It seems that she feels she has to do this just to prove a point that she can, that she belongs in Dauntless. Almost as though Uriah issued a challenge and she can't back down from the challenge. I sit in the cafeteria and fume for a while. Eventually Zeke comes in and joins me.

"I know you don't want her to do this, but she feels like she has to. All of the Dauntless have accepted you, we want to figure out a way to invite you to join us. But not everyone is convinced of her, because of her size and the fact that she is a girl, not everyone is convinced that she can handle Dauntless."

"I don't care if she is accepted or not, I will go where she goes. Who knows if your leaders would even accept either of us anyway. I can't see her risking her life for something that she may never be able to have."

"Why don't you come with us? Then together we can protect her. She will just think that you wanted to know, she doesn't have to know why," Zeke suggests.

"I'd like to, but I can't. I have to meet with the leaders of Abnegation and Candor about my confrontation with Marcus. I have to justify why he deserved a broken jaw and nose."

Zeke laughs, "I promise I will keep her as safe as I can."

"That's the problem, if something goes down, you can't promise that she will be safe. And she doesn't even know how to shoot a gun accurately or protect herself properly. She's not dauntless, maybe she could be some day, but she isn't today."

Zeke considers this, "Do you think she will stay here if we tell her she has to stay?"

"No," I say. "No matter what either of us says, she isn't going to stay here. I'm just going to have to deal with this and hope she is okay."

Zeke nods in agreement.

XXX

"Tobias, I promise I will stay safe. I won't get involved in any confrontation, I promise," she tells me.

She kisses me and goes to the elevator with Zeke and Uriah. I look at them both and say, "I expect you two to keep her safe." They nod and the door closes.

I make my way to my meeting with the Abnegation and Candor leaders.

When I enter the room, I notice that Marcus is not there. Jack, leader of Candor and Anthony, leader of Abnegation are waiting for me. Jack gestures for me to sit at the table across from them.

"Tobias, we are here to discuss your confrontation with Marcus. Do you have anything to say in your defense?" Andrew says.

"Other than it was brewing under the surface for nine years, that is about it."

"What do you mean?" Jacks asks.

"As you heard while I was under truth serum, Marcus has been beating me for a long time. He has beaten me my whole life, but it got worse when I was nine. That is when he started whipping me with his belt and shoving me in a tiny closet, refusing to feed me every day."

"What prompted you to confront him now?" Andrew asks.

"He was angry that I told everyone what he did while I was under the truth serum. He decided to confront me in the hall way. He had me by the throat against the wall so Tris tried to get him to let me go. He knocked her to the floor and made her hit her head off of the wall. At that point, I had enough. It is one thing for him to abuse me, he isn't going to harm her though," I explain.

"Do you think that you are volatile and a danger to those around you?" Jack asks.

"No, I don't. Unless their name is Marcus Eaton or Jeanine Matthews, I have no problem with anyone else."

Suddenly Zeke bursts into the room, "Dauntless traitors have infiltrated the Candor compound. They have hit people with a simulation serum and are trying to find Divergent."

"Where's Tris?" I ask almost hysterical.

"They have her, Tobias. She tried to act like she was under the simulation like Uriah and me, but Eric stepped on her hand and she flinched. He picked her up and took her to the third floor. I don't know what their plan is, but we need to make a plan of our own quickly. She isn't the only person they have down there. When Uriah saw them grab her, he tried to stop them. They have both he and Tris."

I knew something like this was going to happen. I knew she would be in danger.

"We need to get some help and get her down there. Who is still in the Dauntless room?" I ask.

"We will need to go see," Zeke says. "Let's go."

We hurry down to the room and find about twenty Dauntless sitting there.

"Listen up people," Zeke says. "Dauntless traitors and Erudite are in the building and have captured several people, my brother included. They are on the third floor by the elevators."

"What's the plan?" someone asks.

"We split into four groups and take the stairs to the third floor. We surround them and mount a surprise attack," I say. "They apparently don't know we are all up here, or they would have attacked by now."

"We need the arms," Zeke says looking at an older Dauntless.

He walks quickly across the room and moves a couple beds around revealing a hidden room. In this room are enough guns for each Dauntless. There are also knives and other weapons. He begins handing out guns to everyone. We split into four groups with each group taking a stairwell. We begin our descent to the third floor. We had worked out a signal, so everyone knows when to attack. Zeke is going to fire a shot into the air. It should distract the Dauntless traitors and it will signal the attack. Hopefully giving Uriah and Tris enough time to get down before the bullets begin to fly.

We hear the shot and immediately storm the hallway surrounding the Dauntless traitors. The only guns that they have ready are the ones that they used to shoot people with the simulation serum. As Tris and Uriah finally come into view, I see her lung at the man in front of her with a knife and stab him in the stomach. She collapses to the floor just at I reach her. She is shaking and she looks terrified. Uriah kicks the man that Tris stabbed in the head, knocking him out cold.

We disarm the Dauntless traitors and lock them up in the Candor holding cell that Uriah, Zeke, and I were in earlier. The man that Tris stabbed is taken to the infirmary under armed guard. I take Tris into my arms and take her back to the Dauntless room and lie her on her bed. All but one of the Divergents that they captured are fine. The man Tris stabbed, murdered a twelve year old little boy.

"Who was the man that Tris stabbed?" I ask Uriah.

"That was Eric. Dauntless leader and apparently traitor," he explains. "He is horrible, we all hate him. He came in second in Zeke initiate class."

I sit by Tris on her bed and she is still shaking and crying. "Tris, it's okay. You are safe now." I kiss her on the head and smooth her hair from her face.

"He shot that boy. He just shot him for no reason, and there was nothing I could do about it. It happened so fast. Then he turned the gun on me," she said through her sobs. "When I heard the shot, I thought I was gone. Then I saw all of them turn and I saw you running down the hall. That is when I lunged at him with the knife."

"Where did you get a knife?" I ask.

"Uriah gave it to me. He said it was for extra protection. They never checked my back pocket for weapons they only took my gun from me."

I look at her shoulder and she still has a disk protruding from it. "We need to get this out of your shoulder."

Uriah walks over with a knife and hands it to me. "This is apparently the only way to get it off of her. You will have to pry it from her skin, and then pull it out. There is a three inch needle attached to the center of the disk," Uriah explains. He pulls his shirt revealing his shoulder; there is blue dye under his skin. "It appears that everyone that was hit by these is wired for simulation at least that is what we all believe."

"That makes sense. They aren't going to come here just to find the Divergent," I say.

"Yeah," Tris says. "More than likely the Erudite have developed a longer lasting serum. Seeing as the other serum that they used to kill the Abnegation was long distance, it is the next logical step."

"How many have been hit by the serum?" I ask.

"There were only about six Dauntless in the lobby when they attacked, but they got about half of the Candor as they made their way up the elevator. Most of the Dauntless were on the upper floors and Erudite wasn't positive of our presence here. They never made it that far," Uriah explains.

"Of the six Dauntless that were hit, how many were Divergent?" Tris asks.

"I think only me, you, and Zeke. No one else was with us when we were by the elevators. Either they faked sleep better than we did or they aren't Divergent."

"Who were the Dauntless that were hit?" I ask.

"Marlene, Lynn, Zeke, Shauna, Tris, and me," Uriah says.

"We are going to have to really watch then. We can't let them out of our sight for anything. There is no telling when or where the Erudite will trigger the serum that they have been injected with," I say.

I take the knife from Uriah's hand and gently pry the disk from her skin. She flinches slightly, but that is all. When the needle is removed, there is blue staining her skin.

We spend the rest of the evening removing the disks from the Candor that were shot. All while watching and waiting for another attack, possibly from within.


	29. Chapter 29

I don't own anything!

Chapter 29

Tris

After what turned out to be a long night of removing the serum disks from people, we found that over half of the Candor faction is wired for simulation, six of the Dauntless but three of us are Divergent, and none of the Abnegation that are here were hit. They were all on the upper floors with the Dauntless when the attack happened. So now we have another faction that is wired for simulation and the Erudite can use them whenever they want.

I finally lie down in my bed and try to get some rest when Tobias, Zeke, Uriah, Christina, Marlene, and a couple older Dauntless enter the room. I sit up on my bed and Christina and Marlene come to site with me. Apparently there were a couple spies in the Erudite compound, and one of them was injured.

"Will Tori be okay?" an older man named Bud asks.

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad. She lost a lot of blood, but she will be fine," another man named Harrison said.

"Who was she there in Erudite with and what were they doing?" Bud asks.

"She was there with Lauren. They apparently found themselves in the right place at the right time with the simulation was broken. They figured out what happened rather quickly and decided to try to infiltrate the Erudite compound and find out what was going on," Zeke says.

Just then a younger woman walked into the room.

"Lauren," Uriah runs up and gives her a hug. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she says. "How is Tori?"

"She will be fine," Zeke says. "She lost a lot of blood and the bullet broke the bone in her leg, so she will be in a cast. But other than that, she will be fine once she is healed."

"What were you doing there?" Tobias asks.

"Who are you?" Lauren asks skeptically.

"This is Tobias, he is Abnegation. But he is more Dauntless than many Dauntless borns," Uriah explains.

She rolls her eyes, "We were trying to see what they were doing there. When we came to in Abnegation, it didn't take long to figure out what had happened. She and I were right near each other and we quickly decided to count ourselves with the traitor Dauntless and go with them to Erudite."

"What happened to Tori?" Harrison asks.

"She seemed like she was out for revenge for something. I don't know. We separated at one point and when I found her, she was shot in the leg outside Jeanine Matthew's office. I had to smuggle her out of the building without being seen by Dauntless and brought her here. I knew she did something and she wouldn't be safe in Erudite any longer."

"About how many traitor Dauntless were there?" Bud asks.

"All of the leaders and probably around two hundred give or take," Lauren says.

"I can't believe there were that many Dauntless that are horrible traitors," Marlene says.

"How many do we have locked up here?" I ask.

Lauren looks at me for the first time, "Who is she?"

"This is Tris, she is also Abnegation. She is the one that stabbed Eric," Uriah says almost proudly.

"Why are there Abnegation here involved in our faction's business?" Lauren asks almost rudely.

"Because without them and their help, the simulation may never have gotten shut down and more people would have been killed when they attacked us here," Zeke says.

"They have proven themselves faster than any transfer I have ever met," Harrison chimes in.

"So they are transfers now?" Lauren asks angrily.

"No one said that," says Zeke. "But they have been more valuable allies than the Candor have."

"Whatever," she says.

"To answer your question Tris, we have around fifty locked up here. They will be held as prisoners of war," Bud says.

"And how many Dauntless are here?" I ask.

"There are around three hundred of us, not including the traitors. Why?" Bud asks.

"Well, I was just thinking. It probably isn't safe for us here. Over half of the Candor are wired for a simulation that can be activated at any time. I was also thinking that if I were Jeanine, I would have figured out a way to create a serum that can be activated, not only from a distance, but as often as I want. There is a good possibility that this serum will be able to be used multiple times."

The realization of what I am saying begins to show on everyone's faces. And the look that they are all showing is terror.

"I'm guessing you have aptitude for Erudite?" Uriah asks.

"Why do you ask that?" I ask.

"Seriously what was your aptitude, we all know you are Divergent, so spill," Christina says.

I look down, "Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite."

"Three?" Zeke exclaims. "No one gets three!"

"Well I did. What is your aptitude Uriah?"

"I got Dauntless and Abnegation," he says.

"Zeke, your turn."

"I also got Dauntless and Abnegation."

"Tobias, you're next. We are all spilling, you have to also," Uriah says.

"Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite," he says.

"You have three too?" Uriah exclaims. "That's not fair!"

"Why is it that you all have aptitude for Dauntless and Abnegation? There couldn't be two different factions." Lauren says.

"I disagree," Tobias says. "It takes great courage to be selfless all of the time, to think of no one but others all of the time. I have seen the bravery that Zeke and Uriah have shown. It is when they are thinking of others that they are most brave. That is an Abnegation trait."

Everyone looks at Tobias and nods. Uriah and Zeke both smile.

"Well," says Lauren. "If we aren't safe here, where can we go?

"We have been toying with the idea of returning to the Dauntless compound. I think Tobias and I have figured out how we can disarm all of the cameras in the compound so the no one outside of the compound can see what is happening," Zeke says.

"I still like the idea of shooting them with paintballs," Uriah chimes in.

"Actually, we would need to do that at first," Tobias says. "But from what I saw during my time in your compound, there are probably more hidden cameras than you realize."

"What do you mean?" Bud asks.

"Well, when I was shutting down the simulation, there were a lot more commands on that system than there should have been for the monitors that were displayed. I believe that the leaders probably have pass codes to access those cameras. Either that or they are wired through your control room but are monitored at Erudite. Either way, the camera system would have to pass through the Dauntless control room, so if we can find them, we can dismantle them," Tobias explains.

I sit here for a long time and consider all of this. It sounds like Tobias is willing to go to Dauntless and if they let him, he will stay. It seems to me that they are going to let him stay. But what about me? Is that what I want? I always thought I wanted to be Dauntless, but do I really? The thought terrifies me.

"Are we going to bring the Abnegation that are here with us?" I ask.

Harrison looks at me. He is older than the rest of us, probably late thirties. He has a kind face. He smiles at me, "If they want to come, they will be welcome. It isn't any safer for them here than it is for us."

"How many Abnegation are we talking?" Bud asks.

"There are only five that came here with us," Zeke says. "But there were about thirty already here."

"Where are the rest, they can't be the only ones left," Marlene asks.

"Well, not all of them tried to leave with us from Amity. Some were killed and hopefully the ones that stayed were able to assimilate themselves into Amity so they weren't taken prisoner or killed by Erudite," I say. I feel tears beginning to build up in my eyes as I think about how many of my faction are now dead or refugees of war.

Christina must notice, because she wraps her arm around me and pulls me into a hug. She doesn't say anything, she just keeps her arm around me, and then Marlene puts her arm around me from the other side. I have never had friends like this. Susan is great, but she is Abnegation trough and through and I haven't been able to really get to know Felicia.

"We will offer to allow them to come to Dauntless, but they must agree to learn to fight and they must work around the compound," Harrison says.

"Next thing," Lauren says. "All of our leaders are traitors. We need new leaders."

"Well," says Bud, "I think Harrison should be a leader."

"I say Tori should also be a leader," Lauren says.

"I vote for Zeke," says Uriah.

Bud stands up on a bed and announces to the room, "We need new leaders, we are voting in Harrison, Tori, and Zeke. All if favor?" the room erupts in shouts of ascent. "All opposed," murmuring can be heard, but nothing more. "It is settled."

Suddenly Felicia steps forward, "If we are coming to Dauntless, shouldn't we have Abnegation representation?"

Michael, Susan, and Brian come up behind her. Brian speaks, "I agree, I don't feel safe here and would agree to whatever terms you have for us to accompany you to Dauntless, but I also feel that we should have Abnegation representation."

"That sounds fair," Harrison agrees.

"I vote for Tobias," Michael says.

"Wait, what about Marcus. He is here and he is an Abnegation leader," one of the Abnegation says.

"Marcus will not be accompanying us to Dauntless," Zeke says. "He is not welcome in our faction. The rest of you are welcome to come, but he is not."

"He is one of our leaders though. It is our duty to follow him," the man says.

"It is your duty to follow a sadistic leader? Then maybe you belong here or with the traitor Dauntless," I say.

"You are Andrew Prior's daughter, how can you possibly not defend one of your father's friends?"

"He was not my father's friend once my father realized what kind of man he is. My father lost all respect for him once he found out what he did to Tobias." It is common knowledge now since the truth serum and since Tobias beat him up.

"That is what Tobias says, I don't care if it was under truth serum."

Tobias scowls at him and turns and removes his shirt revealing the scars on his back from nine years of whippings. Most of his back is covered by scarred skin. There is a collective gasp from the Abnegation in the room.

I stand and turn to the Abnegation, "Do you have any more comments or opinions about Marcus? He is a monster, so if you want to follow him please be my guest. Otherwise, Tobias is going to be our representative in Dauntless."

The Abnegation in the room nod in agreement and turn away. Tobias pulls his shirt back on moves to me and pulls me into his arms.

"Do you know how much I love you?" he says to me.

I smile, "I love you too. That was very brave. I am so proud of you."

"So now that is settled," Zeke says slightly shaken from the sight of Tobias' back. "When do we leave?"

"After we put Eric on trial for crimes against humanity," Lauren says.

"Yeah, we can't leave the Candor to punish him. They may release him to appease Jeanine," Christina says.

The doors open and a woman in a wheelchair with a cast on her leg wheels herself into the room. Harrison, Bud, and Lauren run up to her and help her maneuver through the room. I know this woman. She is the woman that gave me my aptitude test. Her name is Tori.

"Tori, what are you doing here?" Zeke asks.

"I'm hurt, not dead. What is going on?" Tori says defiantly.

"We were just discussing new Dauntless leaders, you have been elected. Do you accept?" Bud says proudly.

She smiles and nods, "Who else?"

"Zeke and Me," Harrison says. "And Tobias here has been elected to be the Abnegation representative. We have decided to allow Abnegation that fear for their lives to come to Dauntless, but they must agree to basically go through our training and work in the compound."

"That sounds fair. I heard Eric's name as I was coming in, what were you talking about?"

"Well, we need to deal with Eric before we leave," says Zeke.

"Why don't you take him to the trial room and interrogate him?" I ask.

"Beatrice?" Tori says looking at me. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Hi Tori." I smile.

"How do you know Tris?" Marlene asks.

"She gave me my aptitude test," I say.

"Well, I never thought I'd see you again," she says smiling. "I agree with your idea. We question him and we decide his fate, no one else. He is Dauntless."

"They already interrogated him under truth serum," Uriah says.

"Yes, but that was Candor. There were no Dauntless representatives present," Harrison says.

"Okay, so we need to go retrieve him and interrogate him," Zeke says.

"Where is he?" Tori asks.

"Should be in a locked room in the infirmary. Tris stabbed him in the stomach during the attack," Uriah says almost proudly.

She looks at me and nods in approval, "Nice Tris. Okay, let's go get him."

All of the Dauntless and Abnegation meet in the trial room while Harrison, Zeke, Uriah, and Bud go to retrieve Eric.

We sit on one of the benches in the front of the room, Tobias takes my hand in his, "Are you okay with all of this?"

"Sure, I guess," I say. "I mean, they have already accepted you, what if they don't accept me?"

"I'm with you no matter what. I want you to know that. Where ever you want to be, that is where I will be."

"What do you mean we won't accept you?" Christina and Marlene say in unison. "You are with us whether you like it or not!"

They come up to me and push Tobias out of the way and put their arms around me. "You are like my long lost sister, girl," Christina says.

"Yeah, you are stuck with us," Marlene chimes in.

I smile. I like the thought of being stuck with these people. I have never felt more at home in my life.


	30. Chapter 30

I don't own anything!

Chapter 30

Tobias

Harrison, Tori, Bud, and Zeke enter the trial room with Eric and several armed Dauntless guards with their guns trained at the prisoner. He is a smug looking guy, about eighteen with tattoos and piercings all over his face.

Zeke walks over to me and pulls me aside, "We need you to come out into the hall with us for a moment."

I nod and follow the Dauntless leaders and Bud out of the room.

"Tobias, we need to do something about the Dauntless traitors. We can't leave them here and we can't take them with us."

"Okay, what do you need from me?" I ask a little confused. I am the Abnegation representative, not a Dauntless leader.

"We need you to be part of the decision making process. You may not technically be a Dauntless leader, but you are one of our leaders as far as the rest of us are concerned," Harrison says.

"What's the plan?"

"We believe that we need to dispose of them. They are traitors and can no longer be trusted. We can't set the free, we can't leave them here for the Candor to deal with, and we can't take them to Dauntless with us," Tori explains.

"We also have reason to believe that Jack contacted Erudite and told them of our presence here and made some kind of deal with them," Zeke says.

"Where did you hear that?" I ask.

"Let's just say we have some very gifted eavesdroppers," Bud says with a smirk.

I smile at the thought. Odds are, Jack doesn't even know that he was being listened to.

"Well, how do you think we should dispose of fifty traitors?" I ask.

"We were thinking of the most humane way of killing them as possible. We don't want to be cruel," Tori says.

"We were hoping you might have an idea," Zeke says.

"Well, the most humane way I can think of is for them to just go to sleep. All we really need is the carbon dioxide from one of the generators. If we somehow let the exhaust from one of the generators into the room that they are being held, they eventually will fall asleep," I say.

"There is a generator powering that room, the exhaust hose is hooked to the wall right outside of the door. All we would really need to do is remove the hose from the wall and connect it to the door somehow," Bud says.

"Fine, you and Harrison go and take care of that. Zeke, Tobias, and I will take care of Eric."

They leave and head down the hall and the rest of us enter the trial room where Eric is sitting slumped in the chair in the middle of the room. I walk over to Tris and take her hand. She looks at the man in the middle of the room with such contempt it is frightening. I have never seen a look like this on her face before. She hates this man and she isn't afraid to show it.

Tori approaches him, "Eric, do you know why you have been brought here today?"

"I suppose you are going to scold me?" he scoffs.

"Something like that," she say coldly.

"Where is the little girl that stabbed me?" Eric asks.

I grab Tris' hand and we stand together and walk to where Zeke is standing.

"Oh, there she is. Pretty impressive a stiff getting me like that. As soon as the Erudite come to get me, I am going to rip your head off. Understand stiff? And your stiff boyfriend won't be able to do anything about it."

"You won't be putting a finger on her," I snarl quietly. She tightens her grip on my hand.

"What do you want," Tris asks defiantly.

"Just wanted to see the face of my next victim, that's all." He leans forward, "You wait till I get out of here. You and I are going to have some fun… Well I'm going to have some fun with you anyway."

I pull Tris behind me and glare down at him. "Are you going to interrogate him or what?" I growl.

Tris stands behind me with my hand gripped tightly in hers. I can hear her labored breathing, like she is trying to keep her cool.

"Would you like me to list your crimes? Or would you like to list them yourself?" Tori asks.

"I want the stiff to list them. She is the one that stabbed me. She must think I've done something worth being executed." Eric scoffs.

"Leave her out of this," I growl.

"Why? You can't do anything to me. You aren't even Dauntless," Eric said.

"Actually," Tori says. "He is the Abnegation representative in the Dauntless leadership. He has just as much right to kill you as we do."

Eric growls, "List my crimes."

Tris begins, "You conspired with Erudite, you murdered hundreds of Abnegation, you betrayed your faction, you shot a child in cold blood, and you have been working for Jeanine Matthews."

She says all of this firmly and without quavering. I'm very proud of her bravery. I pull her close to me and I can feel her body tremble. She is terrified but isn't showing it.

"Does that mean I deserve to die?" Eric asks.

"Yes," Tori says.

"Fine, but do you have the right to be the one to kill me, Tori? I mean how many people did you kill while in Erudite?"

"You have committed every crime that warrants execution among the Dauntless," Tori says.

"We have the right to execute you under Dauntless law," Zeke finishes.

"If I'm going to be put to death, I want the stiff to do it," Eric says. He is snide and cruel. You can hear the brutality in his voice. He wants to try to break me somehow. He doesn't know me, but he wants to try to break me down. This is probably why it was so easy for him to defile two factions with his actions.

"Why?" Zeke asks.

"Knowing that he killed me will destroy him. A stiff couldn't possibly live with the guilt," Eric says.

Harrison and Bud enter the room and nod in our direction. The deed with the other traitors is done.

"Trust me, there will be no guilt. You murdered my faction."

I lean in close to him as I hear Zeke load the gun behind me. "Besides," I whisper so no one but Eric can hear, "I'm not actually much of a stiff. Killing someone who deserves it doesn't bother me." I stand tall and smirk at him. He scowls and I pull the trigger.

I drop the gun on the table and turn to Tris, I wrap her in my arms and pull her close to me. She is trembling and there are tears in her eyes.

"What about the rest of the prisoners?" Lynn asks. "We can't just leave them for the Erudite to take back and use against us."

"She's right," Uriah says.

"We've already taken care of them," Bud says.

"What do you mean?" asks Marlene.

"The leaders decided that we would take care of them in our own way. It doesn't need to be discussed any further than that," Harrison says.

XXX

We enter the room where we have been staying and gather all of our belongings.

"Abnegation," I stand up and shout. "If you are coming to Dauntless, you will need to be ready to leave in five minutes. If you are not going to Dauntless, I suggest you gather your belongings and go to Amity. They promised refuge for all factions who need it. I don't believe any of you are safe in Candor any longer."

We leave as a large group and take the stairs to the lobby. All of the Dauntless run, hooting and hollering, down the stairs like they do after the choosing ceremony. It is intoxicating and freeing.

Tris holds my hand as we run with a huge smile on her face. I have never seen her this free. I can't help but think about how beautiful she is. Brave, strong, and selfless.

We reach the lobby where we find Jack and Anthony, Candor and Abnegation leaders. Jack look furious, "What have you done?"

"What are you talking about?" Tori asks.

"We were just informed that the Dauntless prisoner is has been taken from his holding cell," Jack says.

I guess they have not found the others yet.

"He was Dauntless and therefore under our authority," Harrison says. "We gave him a trial and executed him for his crimes."

"You wanted him executed, didn't you?" Zeke asks. "After all he murdered one of your children."

"What? Why didn't you include us in your decisions?" Jack asks.

"Probably for the same reason that you didn't include us in your decisions to meet with Erudite and your decision to turn over all of the Divergent to Erudite," I say.

I turn to Anthony, "Anthony, there are some Abnegation that have decided to go with us. There is another group upstairs that has chosen to stay here. It is not safe for any of you to stay here. If you actually care for your faction, lead them to Amity. They have offered refuge to all factions."

A Candor man comes bursting into the lobby, "Sir, all of the Dauntless traitors are dead. The exhaust from the generator near their room was attached to the door, they were asphyxiated."

"We will be leaving now," Tori says.

Jack looks at us in shock, "I am not going to let you leave here." He is trying to be intimidating but he just isn't.

"You can't stop us, so I suggest that you move or we will move you," Zeke sneers. He is very intimidating when he wants to be.

We start to move out of the compound and toward the tracks, soon we will be on a train heading toward Dauntless.


	31. Chapter 31

I don't own anything!

Chapter 31

Tris

When I was in school I would stand at the window and watch the Dauntless jump from the train every day. Then after school I would stand and watch as they boarded the train again, wishing and dreaming that I could go with them. I had always wished that I could be Dauntless, so I could be free, fearless, and fun. When I chose Abnegation because Caleb left them, I never thought I would ever be able to feel this feeling of freedom. But here I am, in the arms of the man I love, riding on a train that I just boarded on my own. We are almost at Dauntless, where for at least a while, I get to live. I get to be one of them, train like them, and work like them. I couldn't be more excited.

A bunch of the Abnegation decided to come with us. Felicia, Michael, Brian, and Susan all felt safer sticking with Tobias and me. Then there are seven more that came along. Caleb and the others decided to go to Amity. I believe Caleb would have come here if Susan wasn't with Brian. They have gotten pretty serious since initiation. I have even heard them speaking of marriage. She is happy and Caleb couldn't handle that so he decided to go with the rest of Abnegation instead of staying with his family.

"Time to jump," Zeke yells. We all ready ourselves and jump one after another. This time we won't be entering through the net like when we came here with Uriah to stop the simulation. We are entering the normal way.

We file into the compound and as we enter Zeke hands us all paintball guns. "Shoot any cameras you find. Make sure they are covered completely."

Tobias kisses me and takes leave with Zeke to go to the control room. They have devised a way to stop all broadcasts from the Dauntless cameras to other factions. We are shooting the cameras with the paintballs just in case their plan doesn't work. We run around the compound shooting at cameras, at things that might be cameras, and at anything and everything that moves. After a few hours we are all exhausted and covered in multiple colors of paint. But it was the most fun that I have ever had. If every day of the rest of my life was like this I would be completely content.

I'm sitting by the chasm with Uriah, Marlene, Lynn, Shauna, Susan, Felicia, Mike, and Brian relaxing and talking. Zeke and Tobias come out of the control room looking triumphant, and remarkably clean.

"We can't let them stay that way," Uriah whispers to me.

I wink and shout, "FIRE!" We all begin to pummel Zeke and Tobias with paintballs. They yell and come running toward us. Zeke grabs Shauna and Tobias grabs me and they use us as human shields until we yell that we surrender. Laughing we all go to the cafeteria where some Abnegation and a few Dauntless have been preparing dinner.

"You have to try Dauntless cake," Uriah says. "You will never taste anything better!"

Cake, I've never had cake before. It is chocolate with chocolate icing. It is the most decadent thing that I have ever seen before. Susan and Mike don't look convinced. Their Abnegation ways are showing.

"Look you two, I know you are originally Abnegation, but you are here in Dauntless now. You need to loosen up a bit," Christina says sitting down with us. A guy sits down next to her, he has blond hair and blue eyes. He is large and handsome. "This is Will, for those of you that don't know him."

"Dude where have you been?" Uriah asks.

"I was spying on Erudite with Tori and Lauren. But when Lauren got shot, I couldn't get out yet. I was close to discovering something."

Tobias and Zeke look at him. "What did you find out?" Zeke asks.

"They are focusing a lot of time and effort on the serums. They have a serum that will last forever and can be activated from long distances."

"Yeah, we know that already," Tobias says.

"Did you also know that individual people can be activated? They don't have to activate everyone at once. They can pick and choose the people that they want to put under."

"No we didn't know that," Tobias says. "That is really interesting and worrisome."

"Yeah, I know," Will says.

"So you guy were successful at dismantling the cameras?" I ask.

"Not completely," Tobias says.

"Yeah, we kind of had to destroy the main computer system," Zeke says smiling.

"Is that a good thing?" Uriah asks.

"Yes and no. Yes because no one can see in here anymore. No because now Zeke and I are going to have to rebuild the computer system from scratch which is going to take weeks."

"I can help. I used to work in the control room with Zeke," says Will.

"Yeah, so did I," says Harrison coming to sit down with us. "With the four of us it shouldn't take us quite as long."

"We need to arrange the sleeping quarters for our guests," Harrison says. "I think, for now, we can have the Abnegation sleep in the dorms until we can arrange proper apartments for them."

We all nod and agree.

"If you are all finished, I'll show you to the dorms," Uriah volunteers.

I begin to stand but Tobias takes my hand and pulls be back down.

"Zeke has arranged an apartment for me. I was hoping you would be willing to stay with me there." he says and looks down a little uncomfortable. "I understand if you don't want to."

I grab him and kiss him, "Are you kidding? I wouldn't want to sleep in the dorms without you."

A smile spreads across his face.

Zeke comes over, "So let me show you guys around here a bit."

We stand hand in hand and begin our tour. We walk around the Pit. He begins by showing us where we can get new clothes, tattoos, and all of the other Dauntless necessities. Part of me thinks I might like a tattoo. I'll have to talk to Tobias about it. We walk up a narrow path that leads to the glass ceiling above us. I tighten my grip on Tobias' hand to reassure him at this height. We walk across the glass and toward a room.

"This is the fear landscape room. This is where all Dauntless go and are put through their worst fears. Would either of you like to try it out?"

"I thought all of the computers were dismantled?" I ask.

"The main computer system is dismantled. The individual computers are not. They have no connection to the rest of the compound or the other factions," Zeke explains.

"I'll try it," Tobias says.

"Okay, so in the fear landscape the person is aware that they are in a simulation. Even non-Divergent are aware. It is timed to see how fast someone can overcome their worst fears and get out of the simulation."

Tobias nods, "Okay, let's go."

They walk into the room and I see Zeke inject a large needle into Tobias' neck. He gives him some instructions and leaves the room. He takes my hand and leads me over to a computer monitor.

"Will we be able to see his fears?" I ask.

"No," Zeke said. "He didn't want us in there. This will just show us his reaction to the simulations, how many fears he has, and how long it takes him to get through."

I nod and watch as Tobias' eyes glaze over and a look of terror reaches his face.


	32. Chapter 32

I don't own anything!

Chapter 32

Tobias

I stand in the room waiting for my first fear to reach me and I can't help but wonder what I was thinking. Zeke told me that he and Tris could watch if I wanted them to but I want to know what my fears are before I share them with other.

Suddenly the world around me goes black and the wind starts blowing, hard. I'm standing on the scaffolding on the top of a dilapidated building. I am about twenty stories up. My hands begin to tremble and I remember what Zeke told me. He said that I either had to face the fear or calm my breathing enough to calm myself down. I think this one will be easier faced.

I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and jump off of the building. Just before I should impact the ground, the surroundings change. Suddenly I'm in a box that doesn't provide me enough room to move or even stand up straight. I kick and punch at the walls, but they won't budge. I can't break out, I have to calm down. I start to breathe deeply try to calm my heart rate. I think about Tris wrapped in my arms and allow myself to imagine being with her, alone. My mind drifts to her and the box disappears.

Next I'm in a room with a woman standing at a table holding a gun at me. She doesn't speak, just points the gun at my head. I think I'm going to have to kill this woman in order to get through. A table and gun appear next to me. I pick up the gun and point it at her head. I pull the trigger and she falls to the ground, dead.

Next I'm standing in a gray room. In the middle of the room stands Tris looking beautiful in her new black clothes with her hair down. Marcus enters looking more like a monster than a man, he begins attacking her and yelling things at her that I can't understand. He takes out his belt and hits her over and over still yelling unintelligible words at her. Seeing this infuriates me and I run at them but I can't get to them. My feet feel like they are stuck to the ground and I can't seem to pick them up, only allowing me to move inches at a time.

He continues to whip her with his belt while she falls to the ground screaming in pain. My fury builds and I finally break free of my bonds. I lunge at Marcus and rip the belt from his grasp. I turn the belt back on him and he disappears.

Next thing I know I am back in the fear landscape room, alone. I can see Zeke and Tris through the observation window. Zeke looks shocked and Tris is smiling.

The stand and enter the room. Tris runs over to me and wraps me in a hug.

"Dude, I have never seen or heard of anything like that!" Zeke exclaims.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You only have four fears! That is less than half the average. The average person has ten to fifteen fears, you only have four. And you got out of each fear faster than I have ever seen anyone get through an individual fear. Your average time was two minutes per fear."

"It felt like a lifetime to me," I say quietly.

"Yeah, well you were only in the simulation for slightly over six minutes," Zeke says.

"You were amazing," Tris says kissing me on my cheek. She whispers in my ear, "You really do belong here!"

"I'm changing your name to Four!" Zeke says. "New faction, new name!"

I think about this. A new name, which has nothing to do with Marcus. Clean start in a new place. I love the idea, but will Tris? I look down at her and she is beaming at me with pride.

"Four," I say and pause. "I like it."

"Well Four, Tris would you like me to show you to your apartment?"

We nod in unison and he leads us back down the narrow path ways to the Pit. We turn down a hall with numerous doors.

"My apartment is in this hall, so is Christina, Will, Uriah, Marlene, Shauna, and Lynn. Figured I'd keep us all together. It isn't anything spectacular, but there is a small kitchen, livingroom, bedroom, and bathroom with a personal shower."

"Thanks Zeke," I say as he hands me the keys.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," and he turns and walks back down the hall to the next door and goes in. We must be neighbors.

I take Tris' hand in mine and we enter our apartment.

"Well _Four_, what do you think?" Tris asks me.

"It's not bad! But please don't call me that. They can, but I would prefer you to call me Tobias. Especially when it is just the two of us."

She smiles and kisses me. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer to me. In the past few days, we have not been able to be alone or this close. I missed feeling her near me. The kiss deepens and I pull move my hands down to the backs of her thighs and life her and she wraps her legs around my waist. I press her to the wall and our kisses become more desperate and passionate.

We both pull back a little to breathe and she smiles at me. "I need to go get a shower and get this paint out of my hair," she whispers. I kiss her again and let her slide down my body to the floor. The feel of her sliding across me makes me crazy. She smiles like she knows and turns and walks toward the bedroom. I see her dig through a bag and retrieve some items out of it and walk to the bathroom. When I hear the shower start I enter the bedroom and start to go through my bag for clean clothes. I'll need a shower before bed too.

While I'm waiting I decide to go to the cafeteria and find us some food that we can eat. I find some muffins and a few bottles of water to take back to our room. When I enter the room again she is sitting on the bed brushing her hair and braiding it down the side. She is wearing her tiny grey camisole and tight little shorts. The same clothes she was wearing that day in Abnegation before everything went crazy. I told her once that I would like to see her in that again. She turns and smiles when she sees me and comes bouncing over to get a muffin and water. I kiss her and then place the other things on the dresser.

"I'm going to get a shower now," I tell her. I lean in and kiss her again. "Have I told you how much I love what you are wearing?"

"Yeah, you have. But you can tell me again," she says flirtatiously.

She takes her muffin and water and goes to sit on the bed. I take the clothes that I set out and go into the bathroom, careful to leave the door cracked just slightly.

When I return from my shower, she is still sitting on the bed but her eyes are closed. It seems she was trying to wait for me, but couldn't make it and fell asleep. I move over to her and gently pull the blanket out from under her and slide her down onto the bed. I move around to the other side and slide under the covers myself. I pull her to me and wrap my arm around her waist. Immediately I find sleep.

XXX

I wake in the morning and Tris is still sleeping. She is extraordinarily gorgeous. She isn't what some would consider to be traditionally beautiful, but she has a light and a power that outshines even the most spectacular beauty. I get up and go into the bathroom to prepare for the day a little. We don't have to get up right now, but soon. I then go into the kitchen and gather two more muffins that I brought from the cafeteria and some juice. When I enter the room, she is not there. Then I notice the bathroom door closed. So I sit on the bed so I have a clear shot of her when she returns.

She comes back into the bedroom, still wearing the same clothes that she slept in, but with her hair down in waves cascading over her shoulders and down her back. She comes over to the bed and sits back down with me.

"Breakfast?" she asks.

"Muffins and juice," I smile.

She tries to take one of the muffins but I hold it away from her so she can't reach it.

"Come on Tobias, I'm hungry," she whines.

"What do I get in return for this fabulous breakfast?" I ask sarcastically.

"A happy girlfriend," she says with a smirk.

She tried to reach across me to grab the muffin and can't help myself. She looks amazing in these clothes. I put the muffin down and pull her into my lap and place my lips to hers. She shifts her body so she is straddling me with her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms around my neck. I place my hands just under the hem of her shirt and touch the smooth soft skin on her back. She doesn't object so I run my fingers up her spine to her shoulders. She deepens the kiss and our tongues massage each other.

She slides her hands down my bare chest to my abdomen and a chill shoots through my body. She continues to slip her hands around my ribs to my back and pulls me closer to her. The want and desire that I feel for her are so intense I don't even realize when I flip her over onto the bed and am over top of her kissing her neck and shoulders. I can feel her shiver under me as I slide my mouth across the exposed skin just under her neck. I hear a small moan come from the back of her throat and know that what I'm doing is making her feel good.

I glide one of my hands down her side and to her thigh that is still wrapped around my waist. I feel a pang that tells me if I don't stop this now we may not stop and I don't want to push this too far, not yet anyway.

I pull back and look into her beautiful blue/gray eyes. She looks at me longingly.

"Tris," I whisper, "we have to stop this before we go too far."

"Maybe I want to go too far," she says quietly.

"I love you, Tris. But I don't think I'm quite ready for that." It is kind of a lie, but I don't want to put it on her. I've been ready for that since I met her. She is beautiful and I am completely in love with her.

"I love you too Tobias." She seems almost relieved to have stopped. Now I wonder if the shivering I felt was actually from fear more than pleasure.

"Tris Prior, do you know that I am completely head over heels in love with you? I have never felt this much love for anyone ever before."

She smiles and I see tears in her eyes. I kiss away the tears and look at her.

"Tobias, I never thought I'd ever be able to be happy again after my parents died. But I am so happy here in your arms. I love you so much it hurts when we aren't together. You are the one good thing I have in my life."

I smile and pull her up into a hug. I kiss her forehead, her cheek, and her neck.

"We should get dressed and see what is going on outside this room," I say.

She nods and goes and puts on a pair of black tight jeans that show off all of her curves and a tight black top that shows off her shoulders and collarbones. I walk over to her and can't help but to pull her into me and kiss her. She has had this effect on me since initiation. But now, in these clothes, seeing her more free, more herself, it makes her practically irresistible. I want to be with her every moment of the day. I want to live the rest of my life with this girl in this place.

"Tobias, we really need to get out of here and go get food. I'm supposed to be in the training room by nine o'clock."

"I know, so am I," I sigh. I release her and I go and dress in all black also and we head to the cafeteria, hand in hand.


	33. Chapter 33

I don't own anything!

Chapter 33

Tris

Today Zeke is teaching the Abnegation to shoot guns. Tobias and I have some experience with this already, so it isn't as hard for us as it is for the others. Tobias hits the center of the target on his second shot. He is a natural at all of this. It took me about seven shots to consistently hit the center of the target. For most of the others it took multiple rounds before some of them were even consistently hitting the target. But I give them credit they are all trying hard in spite of abnegation's beliefs about self defense.

Surprisingly Susan is really good at this, even though she looks completely out of her element with a gun in her hand. But she hit the center of the target before any of the others. Brian keeps looking at her astonished but with pride also. He doesn't seem at all intimidated that his girlfriend is better with a gun than he is. Felicia and Mike do pretty well; they are beginning to get it at least.

After lunch we throw knives. Zeke says that usually for initiate training, we would be learning to fight next but he wants to focus on aim first then hand to hand combat.

Zeke demonstrates how to throw the knives and I watch him intently to see how he stands, holds the knives, and moves his arm and his body. He consistently uses the same method for each throw. He breathes in, takes aim, breathes out and releases the knife. The knife hits the center of the target every time.

"Four, you try this first," Zeke says. "I want to watch you and Tris individually while the others practice."

Tobias walks up to his target and follows every step Zeke performed. Tobias is so fluent and natural that the first knife hits just outside the center circle, but the second and third knives find their marks in the center. Everyone in the room stares in amazement at what he was able to do. Zeke has him do it again so the others can watch him and learn.

Felicia comes over to me, "Why is Zeke calling Tobias, Four?"

"It is a nick name that he earned. He went through his fear landscape last night. Tobias only has four fears. It is apparently the smallest number of fears ever seen in Dauntless. The average is between ten and fifteen. So Zeke started calling him Four. I think he prefers it, so you should all try to call him by his nickname too."

She nods, "That is pretty impressive to have less than half the average number of fears. No wonder it earned him a nickname. I'll tell the others so they can help him change his name."

"Okay Tris, you next," Zeke says. "Four can you go help instruct the others?"

Tobias nods and goes over to start helping the others figure out how to aim.

"Okay Tris, just like I showed you."

I start off without the knife in my hand. Zeke looks at me puzzled but doesn't question what I am doing. I perform the motion over and over, and then I add the knife without actually releasing it. When I finally perform the motion and release, my knife hits the target the first time, but it doesn't stick. The second knife sticks right outside of the center of the target. By the time I have thrown about twelve knives, I am consistently hitting the center of the target.

"Very impressive Tris. You can go help the other too. You are almost as natural at this stuff as Four is," Zeke says.

We spend the rest of the afternoon perfecting our aim with knives then back to guns again. By six o'clock I am exhausted.

We enter the cafeteria and go and sit with our new friends. Christina and Marlene ask me to sit next to them.

"So Tris, we were wondering if you would allow us to do a makeover on you?" Marlene asks.

"Yeah, I know you don't have much as far as clothes and I know you would look great in some things I've seen in the clothing stores."

I look to Tobias for help, but he is busy discussing the computer system with Zeke, Uriah, and Will. I nod to Christina and Marlene and they both squeal with excitement.

"What are you two so excited about?" Will asks.

"Tris agreed to let us do a makeover on her," Christina says excitedly.

Tobias looks at me and smirks, "But I like her the way she is."

"She will still be Tris, just with slightly less baggy clothes," Marlene says.

"What's wrong with what I have on? It is tighter than anything I have ever worn."

"The pants aren't bad, but the shirt is too big for you. Don't worry, you will be comfortable but Dauntless at the same time!" Christina says.

"You okay with that Four?" Marlene asks.

I guess the nickname is quickly catching on because already everyone at our table is calling him Four as opposed to Tobias.

He nods, "Whatever she wants is fine with me. I don't care what she wears, she is beautiful no matter what she has on."

I lean in and kiss him. He has a way of making me feel like the most beautiful girl in the room.

"What are you going to do?" I ask him.

"We also have plans for a sort of makeover," Zeke says.

He looks at me a little worried.

We finish our dinner and Christina and Marlene drag me to the stores for some shopping. I wonder what the guys have in store for Tobias.

XXX

"Okay Tris, you need at least one dress!" Christina comes at me with five dresses in her arms. She shoves them at me and I head to the dressing room to start trying them on.

The first dress is too short and too tight, I can't even move. I throw it over the top of the door at her. "Too tight, no way!" I say.

Finally after about seven dresses they finally get the hint and give me a dress that isn't completely skin tight, made out of pleather, or isn't showing too much skin.

I exit the dressing room with the dress on and their eyes light up. "Tris it is perfect!" Marlene exclaims. "Put these shoes on."

They hand me a pair of shoes that make me six inches taller and I can barely stand let alone walk. "Are there shoes that I might have a chance of moving in?" I ask.

Christina walks over with a heel that she calls a wedge. It is the same height as the last shoe but I am able to walk in it and I don't feel like I'm going to kill myself.

"A wedge is a good compromise, don't you think Marlene?" Christina asks.

Marlene nods, "Okay, so we have running shoes, boots, and heels. We have skinny jeans, formfitting shirts, and a gorgeous dress. Now it is time for hair and makeup!"

Christina agrees and they both grab my arm and drag me from that store. Next thing I know I am sitting in a beauty salon with a woman behind me with a pair of scissors.

"So, what are we having done today?" the woman asks.

Christian is the one to speak up, "Just trim it, but give her some layers and some body. She has fantastic hair, she just needs some style."

I sit in the chair with my eyes closed afraid of what I will see when this woman is done. While I'm sitting there I remember my last haircut and feel a slight twinge in my gut. The day before the choosing ceremony, my mother trimmed my hair. She was the only person that had ever cut my hair up until now. Before I realize what is going on, I have tears streaming down my face and Christina and Marlene are in front of me.

"Tris, what's wrong. If this is too much, we can stop!" Marlene says.

"No it's not that. The haircut just reminded me of my mother. She was the only person who ever cut my hair up until now. I'm sorry, I just miss her."

This is the first time I have talked about my mother to anyone other than Tobias. Both girls give me a hug, and let the stylist finish her work.

When she is done, my hair is more beautiful than I have ever seen it. It still is kind of the same, but it is also very different. I let them put some natural highlights in my hair, I refused the pink and purple that they were trying to talk me into. "I love it!" I say excitedly. I turn to the stylist, "Thank you so much!" She nods and we leave.

"Next stop, makeup," Christina says.

We don't head to a store though, we go to Christina's apartment. She has enough makeup in her room for every girl in Dauntless. She even has the right shades and colors for all three of us. "Christina, why do you have so much makeup?" I ask.

"Because you never know when someone will be in need of a makeover!" she says giggling.

"You aren't going to be able to make me pretty you know," I say.

"Who cares about pretty, I'm going for noticeable," she says.

After about thirty minutes of poking and applying and tweezing, she lets me look in the mirror. I am noticeable. My eyes are striking. They were once a dull blue/grey, but now they are like sheets of blue glass.

I jump up and hug them both, "Thank you so much!"

"Don't you dare shed a tear," Christina says. "I didn't use waterproof makeup!"

We all laugh. "Now put on one of your new outfits and let me get rid of that pathetic excuse for a shirt!" Marlene says.

I go into the bathroom and come out in a new pair of black skinny jeans that fit are a much better fit and a form fitting black shirt that makes me looks much curvier than I really am. When I look in the mirror, I can't believe what I see. Beatrice is no longer in the mirror when I look at it, the Dauntless Tris is there and she is actually kind of pretty. When I leave the bathroom, Christina and Marlene are speechless.

"Wait till Four sees you, he won't be able to keep his hands off of you!" Marlene says.

"Come on," Christina says grabbing my arm. "Let's go find the guys."

We leave her apartment and head to the Pit where we are sure the guys will be hanging out. It only takes a minute before we see them standing around the chasm talking.

We walk over and Christina and Marlene make me stand behind them so no one can see me.

"Let us present, the Dauntless Tris Prior," they say in unison.

They each step aside and reveal my new look. All of the guts' eyes are wide and their mouths hang open.

"Dude, I think I might have to steal your girlfriend," Zeke says to Tobias.

"No way, she is all mine," Tobias says as he walks over to me. "You look gorgeous!" He pulls me into a passionate kiss right in front of everyone.

When we pull away I ask, "So what have you guys been up to tonight?"

"That is a bit of a surprise for later," Tobias says.

"How is the computer system coming?" I ask.

Harrison speaks up, "It is actually almost up and running. They didn't do as much damage as we thought."

"They meaning Zeke and Four," Uriah clarifies.

We all laugh.

"Well, I don't know about all of you. But I'm going to take my beautiful girlfriend home and go to sleep," Tobias says

He takes my hand and we walk back to the apartment together. He doesn't stop looking at me the entire way back there.

When we get back to our room, he pulls me into his arms and kisses me passionately. He runs his hands from my waist up my spine and back down. Then he runs them down to my thighs and lifts me into him. Our kisses are loving and full of fire for each other.

"I love you Tobias," I say when we pull back to breathe.

"I love you too!"

"So, what did you do today?" I ask.

"I'll have to remove my shirt to show you."


	34. Chapter 34

I don't own anything!

Chapter 34

Tobias

After dinner we went our separate ways. Tris went with Marlene and Christina to go shopping, which she did not look at all thrilled about.

Zeke, Uriah, and Will lead me to the Pit and to the tattoo parlor. "You are Dauntless now, it is time for your first tattoo," Will says.

"See, we had this idea to help you get rid of some of your past," Zeke explains. "We have changed your name, now we want to erase the scars."

"With tattoos?" I ask.

"Yeah, you can get anything on your back and it will cover everything," Uriah says.

"It's just a small step to ridding yourself of your past," Will explains.

"Okay, let's do it," I say.

We walk into the tattoo parlor and Tori and Bud are sitting in there talking. Tori is still in a cast but she is able to still do tattoos as long as she can sit.

"What are you guys up to?" Tori asks.

"It is time for Four's first tattoo," Uriah says a little too excitedly.

"What are you looking for?" Tori asks.

"I want my entire back covered."

"That will take hours and probably will need both Bud and I working together to get it done. Do you have any idea what you want?"

"I want the symbols of all of the factions splayed across my back. Then around them I am a blank canvas."

"You are going to give Bud and me free rein?" Tori asks.

"Yes," I say confidently.

"Well then, we best get started," Bud says excitedly. "No one has ever given me completely free rein before."

"Are you sure about this?" Zeke says.

"Yeah, I'm positive."

Three hours later I look in a mirror to find that my back, although not completely covered, is more ink than skin. The symbols of all the factions are displayed prominently across my back with Dauntless the largest at the top, then Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, and Amity on the bottom all getting smaller as they descend down my back. Around the symbols are images of fire that wrap around to my right side toward my chest and an image of the same type of white water at the bottom of the chasm. It is a beautiful masterpiece that I could never have dreamed up.

They cover my back with a healing salve and plastic to cover it until it heals some. "You'll be able to take the plastic off tonight before bed," Tori explains. Bud hands me the cream, "Have Tris put this on you twice a day. Make sure you put some on after you take the plastic off and do not sleep with a shirt on and try to sleep on your left side or on your stomach." I nod and thank them both for turning something that was a constant reminder of another life and into something beautiful and powerful.

"That was amazing, I have never seen anything like that," Zeke says. "And the way they worked together and created something so amazing was awesome!"

"That was the coolest thing that I have ever seen," Uriah agrees.

"Let's go down the chasm," Will says. "That way the girls can find us when they are done shopping.

XXX

We stand around the chasm each with a beer in hand. No one is getting drunk, but they wanted to introduce me to my first drink of alcohol. I could definitely get used to this! My back is stinging from the tattoo, but nothing I haven't handled before. For the first time in my life I am finally feeling like an eighteen year old opposed to a forty year old man. The only time I've ever gotten glimpses of feeling like this is when I was sneaking around to the roof or to the Pier with Tris during initiation.

We are all standing around having a good time when Will sees the girls walking down toward us. I can't see Tris, but it is obvious that Christina and Marlene are hiding her.

"Hey Mar, Chris, what's up?" Uriah asks.

"Let us present, the Dauntless Tris Prior," they say in unison.

They each step to the side to reveal the most striking creature I have ever seen. She is beyond beautiful, she stands out. She is a woman that would make men stop and look at her.

I look around me and all of the guys are staring at her in awe.

Zeke is the first to say something, "Dude, I think I might have to steal your girlfriend."

"No way, she is all mine," I say as I walk over to her. "You look gorgeous!" I pull her into a passionate kiss right in front of everyone. I couldn't help myself I had to touch her, to kiss her right then and there. I can't believe that this gorgeous creature is mine.

We pull away and she asks, "So what have you guys been up to tonight?"

"That is a bit of a surprise for later," I tell her. I can't remove the plastic and everything yet, so I will show her when we are back at the apartment.

"How is the computer system coming?" she asks.

Harrison speaks up, "It is actually almost up and running. They didn't do as much damage as we thought."

"They meaning Zeke and Four," Uriah clarifies.

We all laugh.

"Well, I don't know about all of you. But I'm going to take my beautiful girlfriend home and go to sleep," I say.

I take Tris' hand and we make our way back to the apartment. I can't stop looking at her or touching her. The funny thing is, it is still her. She still looks the same. They didn't make her look like someone else. They just made her most striking features stand out and they put her in clothes that fit her body well. Not the baggy clothes from Abnegation or the borrowed clothes that she has been wearing. It looks like these clothes were made just for her.

We barely make it back into the apartment before I can't control myself any more. I pull her into my arms and begin to kiss her passionately. She wraps her arms around my neck and I run my hands all over her body from her waist up her spine and back down. I move my hands down her sides to her thighs and I lift her into me. Our kisses are loving and full of fire for each other. I can't stop touching her. The desire I have for her is almost so over powering that I have to force myself to pull back and breathe.

"I love you Tobias," she says breathlessly.

"I love you too!" I tell her. I set her back to the floor and take a step back otherwise I may pull her into me again. I need to calm down.

She walks over to the couch and sits, gesturing for me to sit with her.

"So, what did you do today?" she asks.

"I'll have to remove my shirt to show you. But I have to go into bathroom first. I'll be right back."

"What? Okay," she says a little embarrassed. She has only seen me without my shirt on once and that was a mistake.

I get up and go into the bathroom to remove the plastic from my new tattoo and do my best to spread the healing cream on it myself. I can reach most of the tattoo. The cream calms the burning sensation that I feel and it immediately takes away some of the redness on my skin allowing the colors and details of the tattoo to stand out. It is more amazing now than it was a couple hours ago when they finished. And it covers every single scar that I once had. I replace my shirt and go back to the living room.

I walk back out into the living room and Tris is sitting there in a tight tank top and tiny black shorts with her hair in a ponytail. She must have changed while I was in the bathroom. She looks even more irresistible now than she did before.

"So, what are you going to show me?" she asks.

I pull my shirt off in one fluid movement and turn for her to see my back.

"Oh Tobias, it's beautiful," she says. She runs her fingers across my back where all of the faction symbols are and she lingers her fingers where I believe the Abnegation symbol is. "I miss them," she whispers.

I turn to face her and her hand slides down and she touches the flames on my side. "I know you do. Your parents would be so proud of how selfless, strong and brave you have been." I kiss her on her cheek. "I could see how much they loved you."

"I only have one question though. My mother was obviously Dauntless. She had all the tattoos on her upper arms, but what was she doing near Abnegation headquarters the night of the attack. She didn't know I was there, she couldn't have been there to protect me like I thought."

"Could it have anything to do with the announcement you said your father was talking about that was going to happen just after initiation?"

"I don't know, maybe. But there aren't any leaders left to find out."

"Yes, there is. Marcus is still around," I say.

"We don't even know where he is now. He could be anywhere."

"If the rest of Abnegation went to Amity, I would be willing to bet he went there with him. He would go where there are people to look up to him."

"How do we find out though? We have to continue to train," Tris says.

"I don't know let me talk to Tori, Zeke, and Harrison. Maybe they have some ideas."

She stands in front of me and takes my hand, "Come on, let's go to bed."

We curl into bed together. I wrap her in my arms and fall asleep lighter than I have in a while. It feels like the tattoo erased the years of abuse from my body.

XXX

We wake in the morning to someone pounding on the door.

"Zeke, what are you doing here?" I ask.

"Harrison needs you in the control room. He needs some help with a file that was sent from Abnegation just before the simulation attack."

I run into the bedroom and find a shirt and put on some jeans.

"Tris," I shake her gently, "I have to go to the control room this morning. I'll see you later."

"Okay," she leans up and kisses me and I run out the door after Zeke to the control room.


	35. Chapter 35

I don't own anything!

Chapter 35

Tris

After Tobias leaves with Zeke, I stay in bed and try to go back to sleep. It is only five in the morning so there is no need to get up yet. I finally decide to get up an hour later and slowly get ready for the day. I get a shower and put on some of the new clothes that I bought yesterday. They are all black and very tight, but they fit me well and if the way that Tobias looked at me was any indication, I must not look bad in them either.

I brush my hair and put it back into a ponytail and head out to the cafeteria for breakfast. On my way there I find Susan in the hall way. She is dressed all in black, but her clothes are not nearly as tight as mine.

"Hey Susan, how are you?"

"I am fine, Tris. I just thought I would walk to breakfast with you this morning."

"Where is Brian? You guys have been spending a lot of time together."

She sighs, "Uriah is working with he and Michael one on one to accelerate their training. I think everyone thinks that we are going to have to go into war soon."

"They are probably right. Things are quiet right now, it is almost seems like the calm before the storm."

"Where is Tobias, I mean Four?" Susan asks.

"He was called to the control room early this morning. It seemed kind of urgent," I explain.

We walk toward the cafeteria and find Felicia standing outside waiting for us.

"Hey, are you going to breakfast?" she asks.

"Yeah, why aren't you in there?" I ask.

"I wasn't comfortable with going in alone. I have not had to do anything alone here yet." She looks nervous and uncomfortable. Suddenly I realize that I have not really introduced either of them to Christina or Marlene yet. They are almost always with Mike and Brian, I never wanted to interrupt.

"Come on," I say. "I have some friends for you to meet."

We enter the cafeteria and go over to the table where Christina and Marlene are eating breakfast. "Hey, where is everyone?" I ask.

"All the guys and Tori are in the control room. Apparently there is something big going on because Zeke wouldn't talk about it when he came in here to get Will and Uriah. They all ran out of here without a word," Christina explained.

Now I'm curious. Zeke came to get Tobias hours ago. If all of the leaders and the control room workers are there, something big is going on.

I gesture for Susan and Felicia to sit down, "Susan, Felicia this is Christina and Marlene," I say gesturing to each girl. "Susan and Felicia are from Abnegation, Susan was my neighbor and we met Felicia during initiation."

"Yeah, I tried to steal T… Four from her before I knew they had something going on," Felicia says with a giggle.

"You weren't originally Abnegation, were you?" Christina asks.

"No, I wasn't, I was…" she is cut off by Marlene.

"Oh, let me guess!" Marlene says. "Well we know you weren't Dauntless, because I am Dauntless born, so that leaves Candor, Erudite, and Amity."

"She wasn't Candor, I would know her if she was," Christina interjects.

"You have no problem with the tight clothes of Dauntless and you tried to hit on your instructor during initiation, neither of those things are logical. I'm going to guess you were Amity," Marlene declares.

"Yep, I was Amity," she smiles.

"Why did you leave there after the war started? You could have gone back with the other Abnegation that where in Candor?" Marlene asks.

"I never felt like I belonged there. Abnegation was where I wanted to be, but if I have to choose between Dauntless and Amity, it is no contest. No one can possibly ever be that happy and peaceful. Plus I never liked the idea of being drugged to stay happy."

"Wait, what?" Christina exclaims. "Who was drugging people to stay happy?"

"In Amity, they put peace serum into the bread so that people stay peaceful," Susan explains.

"They go through life drugged? That sucks!" Marlene says.

"Yeah, well that is part of the reason that I couldn't stay there. There were many reasons I couldn't stay there."

We continue to talk and eat our breakfast.

Uriah walks into the cafeteria and announces, "Abnegation initiates, it is time for training. I will be instructing you in fighting today."

Felicia, Susan, and I get up, say bye, and follow Uriah out of the cafeteria and to the training room. I rush up the Uriah, "Hey what is going on?"

"Not much Tris, how are you?"

"Uriah, don't be so evasive. What is going on in the control room?"

"Look, I can't tell you. I don't even completely know what is going on. I just know that it is important and that Zeke, Four, Will, and Harrison will be working all day until they figure it out."

"But maybe I can help, my father was an Abnegation leader."

"I'll mention it, but for now you best focus on fighting. It is important that you learn how to fight and beat someone that is bigger than you."

I drop the subject. I know that there is only so much that Uriah can do. He isn't really completely part of what the other guys are doing, he just passed initiation when I did. He never had the opportunity to get assigned a job let alone get trained into one before the attack.

We enter the training room and there are punching bags hanging at three foot intervals around the room.

"As I said in the cafeteria," Uriah begins, "next you will learn how to fight. The purpose of this is to prepare you to act; to prepare your body to respond to threats and challenges - which you will need, if you intend to survive."

"We will go over technique today," he continues, "and tomorrow you will start to fight each other, so I recommend that you pay attention. Those who don't learn fast will get hurt."

He pauses for a moment, then continues, "Everyone gather around, I am going to show you some basic punches and kicks."

He approaches a bag and begins to name and demonstrate a few different punches and kicks, both against the air and the punching bag.

The sound of skin hitting tough fabric fills the room as every initiate tries to imitate his actions. It takes a few tries for everyone to get acquainted with the motions, just like it did the guns.

I notice that Uriah slowly starts to move around the room while making careful observations of everyone's strengths and weaknesses. While everyone else is still familiarizing themselves with the basic movements, he begins to give them suggestions about what they can do to improve their chances.

"Tris, you don't have much muscle," he says, "which means you're better off using your knees and elbows. You can put more power behind them."

He shows me on the punching bag what he means and how he wants me to use my elbows and knees.

"Make sure you keep tension in your abdomen, it will keep your core steady and it will help if someone punches you there."

I nod and start to practice the moves he just showed me.

He walks over and tells Susan the same thing. She is about two inches taller than me but she is built very much like I am.

We spend the rest of the morning practicing the moves that he taught us. He also showed us some other move individually that he said my help us during our fights.

"Alright, it is lunch time. This afternoon we are going to continue to practice and possibly do some sparring with some more advanced fighters to give you an idea of what is to come," Uriah explains.

"Are we really going to fight each other?" one girl asks. "We are all friends here."

"Yes, you are going to fight. It doesn't matter that you are friends. You have to learn how to fight. If you can't defend yourself in hand to hand combat, then you won't be of any use to anyone once we have to attack or defend ourselves. You came here to be protected, well when you leave here you won't need protected. You will be able to defend yourselves."

There is some grumbling but no one really protests. We all made the choice to come to Dauntless. Now we have to abide by their rules.

We enter the cafeteria and Tobias, Zeke, and Will are all sitting and eating. They look haggard. I sit next to Tobias and he puts his arm around me.

"Hey beautiful, how are you doing today?" he kisses me on my head.

"Just learning how to fight."

"Yeah, I heard. Zeke, Will, and I will be coming in for your afternoon to help with some sparing."

"But you haven't been trained to fight yet," I say.

He smirks, "Trust me Tris, I have been trained to fight. I have been training in hand to hand combat with Zeke one on one since we were in Candor. I never told you because I didn't want to pressure you to come to Dauntless with me."

"Oh, okay. Well, what is going on? What have you been doing all morning?"

"I can't discuss it quite yet. I almost have the code broken," he says without explaining.

"Well don't forget, my father was a leader. The code could be his. I might be able to help."

"We will keep that in mind," Zeke says. "If we can't break it by tonight, we might just bring you in to try."

We finish our lunch and return to the training room. Zeke, Tobias, and Will accompany us.

"Okay, like I said before lunch we will continue to practice punches and kicks on the punching bags. We have some help here this afternoon. They will be able to give you more tips and guidance than I did. We will also begin to pick out some of you to spar with us so we can give you more suggestions and help you to become better fighters. First we would like to show you a fight."

Brian and Michael come into the room. They both look stronger and more muscular than they did when we left Abnegation.

"Now, these two have been training at a more accelerated rate than the rest of you. They will show you the proper technique to have in a fight. We aren't expecting you to kill each other. But we do expect you to put out full effort in learning to fight and you will never learn to fight against just a punching bag. The only way to learn is to fight against an opponent," Uriah explains.

We move in around the ring where Brian and Mike are preparing to fight. They begin to circle each other with their hands ready to defend or attack. You would never realize that they were both Abnegation if you didn't know it already. Mike's face is scrunched up showing his determination. Brian grits his teeth and gets ready to pounce. Suddenly Mike rushes Brian.

Brian leaps to the side and kicks Mike in the back. Mike stumbles but quickly regains his balance. Brian quickly rushes Mike from the side. Mike drops and scissor-kicks Brian and brings him down. Brian is faster though and he manages to kick Mike in the face. Mike is dazed but still attempts to stand and attack again. Brian rushes but Mike sidesteps and plants an elbow to the back of Brian's neck knocking him to the ground on his face. He takes the momentum and drops his elbow to the back of Brian's head, knocking him out cold. Mike stands dazed but triumphant. He picks Brian up and drags him out of the room to the infirmary.

Zeke steps up, "This was a perfect example of using not only your fists and feet, but your knees and elbows to your advantage. Mike is not as big as Brian is, but he was able to get the upper hand by using his knees and elbows to his advantage. Now, everyone go to a punching bag, and begin. We will be around to help you and give you tips."

They walk around us and watch our stance, the way we throw punches and kicks, and the way we use our other body parts to inflict maximum damage. They congregate together and then call four names, "Tris, Susan, Felicia, and Teresa please come to the ring. The rest of you can come and observe."

"You four will spar with one of us. We are not looking for knock-out blows, so the rules are no punches or kicks to the head. Also we are going to use the head gear and boxing the fighting gloves," Will explains.

We all nod. I wonder who I will be fighting. Hopefully Tobias, I think he will give me the best fight without hurting me too badly.

"First up, Susan and Uriah."

They begin by dancing around the ring, much like Brian and Mike did. Uriah has his hands in perfect position while Susan's hands are too high. She is protecting her face but leaving her body unguarded. Uriah strikes first but Susan uses her speed and dodges the blow by rolling under it. She comes up behind him and kicks him in the back of the knee. He drops to the floor on his knees but sees her attack and quickly spins his leg and knocks her to the floor. They both scramble to their feet and begin to circle each other again.

Uriah attacks again and Susan attempts to sidestep his advance. He anticipates her move and lands a blow to her back causing her to stumble and fall. She quickly stands and advances on Uriah. He sidesteps her advance but she expects this and lands a knee to his abdomen causing him to buckle, then she elbows him in the top of the spine.

"Alright, I'm done," he concedes. He stands with a huge smile on his face. "Good job Susan! Way to use your knees and elbows."

"Alright, next Felicia and Zeke."

This fight goes pretty much the same as Uriah and Susan. Of course you can see that the guys are taking it easy on the girls, allowing them to gain the upper hand. What this is really doing is building their confidence and teaching them how to anticipate an opponent's moves.

Once Zeke concedes to Felicia, it is Teresa and Will's turn. She isn't as good at this as the other girls were. She does her best but ends up giving up to Will.

Finally Tobias and I enter the ring. I'm not sure if I like the idea of fighting him or not. I think he will push me harder than the others would.

We faceoff in the center of the ring and everyone is watching. Tobias is at least a foot taller than I am and outweighs me by more than one hundred pounds. He definitely has the advantage here. I am faster than he is, that might help me a little.

He smirks at me and readies himself for the fight. His arms are at the perfect height for offense or defense. I don't see any weakness in him. Then I realize that I am his weakness.

I whip off my tee shirt and reveal the tight camisole underneath. He looks at me shocked. But his lips soon turn up into a grin. I raise my hands and ready myself for the fight.

I decide to go on the offense and attack first. I rush at him and he easily avoids my attack and knocks me off balance. He turns to attack and when he is close enough, he swings. The shot would have hit me in the chest, but I quickly hit the ground and summersault. I kick him in the back of the knee and knock him to the ground. Before he has a chance to respond, I come up behind him and kick him in the back knocking him forward.

He rolls onto his back and flips himself up to stand. He looks at me with shock and pride. He attacks by knocking my legs out from under me and comes down on top of me. He straddles my legs with his so I can't move them and he holds my hands in his above my head. He leans in and kisses me. He smirks, "Give up?"

"Not a chance!"

He smiles and kisses me again. He holds both of my hands with one of his and runs the other down my side to my waist. He kisses me once more and gets up off of me. Before he stands I swing my legs around and knock him off balance again. He stumbles but doesn't fall. I bring my elbow into his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. He doubles over and I hit him in the back of his knee with my knee again and cause him to fall. This time I am straddling him.

"Give up?"

"Yeah, I give!" he says and leans up and kisses me.

"Okay, well I think that is enough for tonight," Zeke says with a smirk.

He turns to everyone else, "You have the rest of the night to do whatever it is that you do. Tomorrow you will all fight. After that you will have one full day off to heal, and then we will begin fear simulations. You are going through an abbreviated version of the initiation that our initiates go through, so you will only have two days of fear simulations, going through your fears twice a day. You will have a day off after the simulations. Finally you will each go through your fear landscape. Does anyone have any questions?"

No one asks any questions, they are Abnegation and curiosity is considered selfish.

"Not bad," Tobias says kissing me. "Not bad at all!"


	36. Chapter 36

I don't own anything!

Chapter 36

Tobias

Zeke wakes me up and drags me to the control room at five in the morning.

"This better be important man, I was sleeping," I complain.

"It is. Harrison found something that was sent from Abnegation the night of the attack. It looks like it was sent just after the attack started. We were able to trace the account that it was sent from. It looks like one of the leaders or their wives sent the file from Abnegation headquarters."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Well, you know more about the Abnegation than we do. We can't crack the code on it. We need to see what this is. It might be the key to what sparked the Erudite to attack. It seems that one of the Abnegation was brave enough to go to the headquarters and send this out to all of the factions. We want to know why."

When he says this, I remember Natalie Prior leaving headquarters and distracting a group of Dauntless so that I could get Tris to safety. She had tattoos on her upper arm which means that she was originally Dauntless, and apparently she still was Dauntless. She had to be the one that sent the file. She was the only Abnegation that was anywhere near headquarters after the attack started. She must have infiltrated the building to send the file because she knew that most of her faction would not survive the attack. She sacrificed her own life to keep the Dauntless distracted from Tris and me.

I have to find out if I'm right. If her mother died to send this message, I have to find out what it is.

We enter the control room and Will is sleeping on the floor in the corner and Harrison looks like he is ready to pass out.

"We have been trying all night and can't break through. It is time for new eyes and a new perspective. I'm going home to see my wife and pass out."

And with that Harrison gets up and leaves. I sit down in front of the computers and begin to look at the file that Zeke was talking about. It is a standard Abnegation file with all of our traditional defenses. The problem is, it was sent from a private account which means that there will be something safeguarding this file that is personal to the user.

I begin by typing codes to that should help decode any encrypted data and break through the protections.

For hours I continue to try to break through but I can't get past the personal protection that the user put on this file. It almost seems like it was meant for a specific person or persons to break. I have a feeling I know who that person is.

I look at the clock and realize that it is already lunch time. I have been at this for seven hours already. I look up from the computer to find that Zeke and Will are watching me intently. "It is lunch time, I need a break. Let's go eat."

They both nod in agreement and we leave the control room, sure to lock the computer system and the door before we leave. We enter the cafeteria and I immediately look for Tris, but she isn't here yet. So I get enough food for the both of us and begin to eat while I wait for her.

She enters with Susan and Felicia and instantly comes to sit with me while the others find Mike and Brian at another table and go to sit with them. When she is next to me I put my arm around her.

"Hey beautiful, how are you doing today?" I ask as I kiss her on the head.

"Just learning how to fight."

"Yeah, I heard. Zeke, Will, and I will be coming in for your afternoon to help with some sparing."

"But you haven't been trained to fight yet," she says.

I smirk, "Trust me Tris, I have been trained to fight. I have been training in hand to hand combat with Zeke one on one since we were in Candor. I never told you because I didn't want to pressure you to come to Dauntless with me."

"Oh, okay," she says obviously confused. "Why would that make me feel pressure to come here? There was never a question. I go where you go. Anyway, what's going on? What have you been doing all morning?"

"I can't discuss it quite yet. I almost have the code broken," I say without explaining. I don't want to get her hopes up about the fact that I believe that her mother sent this file and that she or Caleb are the only ones that can actually open it.

"Well don't forget, my father was a leader. The code could be his. I might be able to help."

"We will keep that in mind," Zeke says. "If we can't break it by tonight, we might just bring you in to try."

I will be bringing her in tonight. I realized that I never did explain what I think about this file to Zeke. He'd probably want to run her down there right now. But she isn't quite ready for that yet. I'll tell him after the fights. We can bring her down then.

We finish our lunch and we all return to the training room for fighting.

Uriah brings Brian and Mike into the room. They are going to show the Abnegation what a real fight looks like.

Their fight is interesting and it lasts for about ten minutes before Mike finally knocks Brian out.

"This was a perfect example of using not only your fists and feet, but your knees and elbows to your advantage. Mike is not as big as Brian is, but he was able to get the upper hand by using his knees and elbows to his advantage. Now, everyone go to a punching bag, and begin. We will be around to help you and give you tips," Zeke says.

While they practice I walk around with Zeke, Will, and Uriah to help them learn the best way to throw punches and kick. Some of them do quite well, and some I thing just need some confidence. Tris is one of those who doesn't realize her strength and power. I'll need to show her.

I walk over to Zeke, "Pair me up with Tris, okay?"

"Are you sure, I didn't think you would want to hurt her."

"I don't, but I also know how to push her buttons better than any of you. If we want her to fight hard, I need to be the one to push her."

"Whatever you say, man."

"Tris, Susan, Felicia, and Teresa please come to the ring. The rest of you can come and observe," Zeke calls.

"You four will spar with one of us. We are not looking for knock-out blows, so the rules are no punches or kicks to the head. Also we are going to use the head gear and the fighting gloves," Will explains.

"First up, Susan and Uriah."

Their fight lasts about five minutes before Uriah manages to make Susan angry and she finally starts to retaliate to her advantage. After another two minutes Uriah concedes and they leave the ring.

"Alright, next Felicia and Zeke."

Their fight lasts a little longer than the first one, but after about twelve minutes Zeke forfeits to Felicia.

Next it is Teresa and Will's turn. She isn't as good at this as the other girls were. She does her best but ends up giving up to Will after only five minutes.

"Last, Tris and Four."

We faceoff in the center of the ring and everyone is watching. I want to push her to fight me as hard as she can. I want her to take the time to look for any weaknesses that she may think I have and try to exploit them.

I smirk at her and ready myself for the fight. I raise my arms so they are at the perfect height for offense or defense. I try not to let her see any weakness. I want her to find the weakness that I'm not even completely aware is there.

Then she does something so completely unexpected, it throws me off. She whips off her tee shirt and reveals the tight black lace camisole underneath. I am totally shocked. She found my weakness, she is my weakness. And she is exploiting that weakness because she knows that I won't be able to completely focus on fighting if I have to keep looking at her in that tight lace camisole that is just about see through except for where her black bra is. I can see the skin below the shirt where her stomach is. I grin at her because she is not only brilliant, but amazingly sensual.

I prepare myself for the fight and try to focus, but I am having a really hard time paying attention to fighting her instead of wanting to take her back to the apartment.

She attacks first, but I knock her off balance.

She manages to get me to the ground but I quickly get back up. I bring her down and straddle her legs with mine and I hold her hands above her head. I kiss her.

"Give up?" I smirk at her.

"Not a chance," she says.

I smile and kiss her again. I hold both of her hands with one of mine and I run the other down the side of her body to her waist. I kiss her once more and stand. Before I have the chance to stand she swings her legs around and knocks me off balance again. I stumble but don't fall. She brings her elbow into my abdomen, knocking the wind out of me. I double over and she hits me in the back of the knee and I fall. This time she straddles me.

"Give up?" she asks.

"Yeah, I give!" I say and lean up to kiss her.

We stand and I pull her into me. Susan comes over and hands her the shirt that she took off to distract me.

"Not bad," I say kissing her. "Not bad at all!"

XXX

We get ready to go dinner, but I need to discuss my theory with Zeke and Will.

"Tris, go on ahead. I have to talk to Zeke and Will."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just have a theory that I need to share with them is all."

"Okay," she says. I know she is curious, but she is trying to keep her curiosity in check.

I walk over to Zeke and Will, "I thought you were going to leave with your lady," Zeke says.

"Walk with me," I say. Neither of them questions, they know that I want to go somewhere more secure. Even though we are pretty positive that the compound is safe, we still only discuss important matters in places that we know for sure are secure. We enter the control room a few minutes later.

"What's this about?" Will asks.

"Look I have a theory about that file. I think we need to bring Tris in on it. I believe that she is the only one that will be able to crack the code."

"Why?" Zeke asks.

"Because while I was working earlier, I remembered something about the attack. After Tris and I met Uriah and were making our way to the building that he other Abnegation were hiding out in, we saw Natalie Prior, Tris' mother leaving their headquarters. When she saw us she ran into the middle of a group of Dauntless and started shooting. They overwhelmed her and killed her. But that is not the important part. The important part is that she was leaving Abnegation headquarters after the attack started and she was the only Abnegation that was around there at that time. She may have been the one to send the file. I believe that whatever protection is on this file, Tris will be able to figure it out."

"Okay, would some Abnegation woman risk her life like that? It isn't logical," Will says.

"She was originally Dauntless. And if I'm correct, she was also Divergent."

"Wait, how do you know she was Dauntless?" Zeke asks.

"Because she had half sleeve tattoos. The upper part of both arms was covered."

"Okay, why not. Bring her in after dinner, maybe she will have better luck than the rest of us."

We go to the cafeteria and have dinner. After we are finished, I'll ask her to come back to the control room with me and explain everything.


	37. Chapter 37

I don't own anything

Chapter 37

Tris

"Tris, I need you to come to the control room with me," Tobias tells me.

I wonder what is going on. I don't question, I just take his hand and he leads me to the control room with Will and Zeke in tow. He opens the door to find Harrison sitting at the control board reassembling something that looks really complicated.

"Did you two really need to dismantle the monitoring system for the entire faction?" he asks.

"We were looking for bugs," Zeke says.

"And did you find any?"

"No," Tobias says. "Actually yes we did. We found out how Erudite was keeping tabs on Dauntless. There was a transmitter in the system that was connected to all of the computer monitors and cameras in Dauntless. If we hadn't taken it apart, we may never have found it."

"Okay fair enough," Harrison says. "Hello Tris, what are you doing here."

Tobias turns to me, "Can you sit down. I have something that I need to explain to you." He turns his attention to Harrison, "You might as well sit too, and I'll explain everything."

Tobias begins talking to me, "While I was working earlier, I remembered something about the attack. After we met Uriah and were making our way to the building that the other Abnegation were hiding out in, we saw your mother. She was leaving Abnegation headquarters after the attack started and she was the only Abnegation that was around there at that time. She may have been the one to send the file that we are trying to crack. I believe that whatever protection is on this file, you will be able to figure it out."

"Me?" I ask. "Why me?"

"Because I believe that your mother has some kind of protection on the file that only you or your brother will be able to figure out."

"This could be the file that we heard others talking about while we were in Amity," I say, the realization of what this could mean just hitting me.

"I also thought that. If it is, we won't have to rely on Marcus for help. Even though I don't believe that he would help us anyway. He likes his secrets too much."

I nod in agreement. "So what should I do? I don't know much about computers."

"Basically, I have figured out that the final safeguard that is on this file is some kind of word or phrase. Think of something that you think your mother would say, or maybe a message she may try to leave you."

"Do you know how long it would be?"

"No, I don't know that. But whatever it is, it would be important to your mother. I have tried things like Dauntless, Divergent, Beatrice, and Caleb. They are way too obvious though. I think it would be something more specifically your mother, something that only her family would know about. Maybe something she used to say often or possibly a belief she had."

Zeke, Uriah, Will, and Harrison sit around the room watching the exchange. They don't offer any suggestions, they only sit and listen intently.

"Okay, can I just start typing and see what happens?"

"Yes, that would be fine. I have also found that whoever sent the file disengaged the security that would shut it down if too many pass codes are tried. It is quite ingenious actually."

I begin to type things my mother always used to tell me, 'I love you Beatrice', 'I'm proud of you', etc. None of it worked.

I sit and think for a while. It seems like I have been trying different words and phrases for hours. Maybe I have. Then I start to think about what she would have been thinking before running out into the street to try to get back to my father. What would be the last words that my mother would want to tell me? What were her eyes trying to tell me before she ran into the group of Dauntless to distract them so we could get away?

I type in the letters b-e-b-r-a-v-e.

The computer screen changes colors and I see Tobias' eyes light up. The other guys behind us jump up and surround us.

A woman appears on the screen and she begins to talk about wars and devastation that happened in the past. She talks about the creation of the five factions and why the fence was constructed.

We sit and watch the video for about fifteen minutes. It shows death and devastation of an entire country.

It talks about the need to try to bring back the old belief systems and the goodness in people.

And it talks about the Divergent.

The video goes black and we are all silent. The last thing the woman said was that she would be erasing her memory and taking the name Edith Prior.

What does that mean? This woman was an ancestor of mine? Was she related to my father or my mother? In our society some men take the woman's name when they marry.

"We have to share this video with everyone else. This has to be what the Abnegation leaders were going to release after initiation," I say.

"I don't know, this is kind of a big deal. It could be volatile, it could cause a massive war," Will says.

"In case you haven't noticed, we are already involved in a massive war that has decimated the Abnegation faction, divided the Dauntless faction, and has the Candor faction wired for simulation. Not to mention the Amity faction is still trying to stay neutral. This information could sway them to fight," Tobias says.

"Besides, not only do we have this video," Zeke says. "We still have the disk that had the simulation commands on it and has video from the attack on Abnegation."

"Where is that disk? I assumed it was destroyed," Will says.

"No, it wasn't destroyed. And I have it hidden away. That information I would like to keep to myself for now."

"How do we get this video out though, I thought you severed any connections to the other factions when you dismantled the computer system," I ask.

"We severed the connection to our information and camera systems. We do still have connection to the other factions through the public announcement system. We could send this video in the form of a public announcement," Tobias says.

"Wouldn't the Erudite be able to stop that?" Harrison asks.

"No, it was a system setup by Abnegation government officials in order to send out public information to the factions about the government and what they were doing or planning on doing. The Erudite had no access to that because the Abnegation didn't want it corrupted," Tobias explains.

"I thought that was only accessible through Abnegation though," Will says.

"Through Abnegation, or through someone who knows the Abnegation computer system," Tobias says.

They all look at him, "You can do this?" Zeke asks him.

"Yes, I was the main person that maintained the computer system. I know how to access the program through any computer. I was the one that created a back door into every system in every faction into every system, just in case I ever needed to access it from somewhere else. It is undetectable until it is too late."

"Are you sure the Erudite haven't found it? They are some of the more intelligent people in the factions," Will says. Having been originally from Erudite, he says this with a little too much pride. "I don't mean to sound skeptical, but my sister works on the computer systems and she is quite brilliant."

"The problem with Erudite is that they have brilliant binds, but most of them are narrow-minded. They don't realize that there are intelligent people in the other factions. They don't realize that there are people with just as much ability with computer or other systems as they have. They are blinded by their superior thinking," Tobias says.

He starts to key in different codes and commands into the computer and all kinds of things begin to pop up on the monitors. Soon he has access to every computer system in the city. He uploads the video to the public announcement system and we all watch as Edith Prior comes onto the screen.

"There is nothing they can do about it now. Every computer and video screen in the city is now playing this video. There is no way to stop it until after it is over," Tobias says.

We leave the control room and move into the Pit to see all of the video screens showing the same video that we just watched in the control room. The video that my mother risked her life and ultimately died for.

I turn to Tobias and he takes my hand, "What do we do now?"

"We prepare for war," he says.

XXX

The video ends and the Pit erupts, people screaming and arguing all over. Tori gets onto the public address system and tries to calm the hysteria that is threatening to take over the compound. Her voice is firm but gentle as she continues to speak into the intercom to get the attention of the faction.

"All Dauntless and Abnegation please move into the cafeteria for an emergency meeting. All leaders and Tris Prior, please report to the chasm."

The five of us make our way to the chasm where Tori is standing waiting for us.

"What was that, you couldn't call me to the control room and warn me before you played it for the entire faction?" she asks.

"We didn't play it for the entire faction, we played it for the entire city," Zeke corrects.

"You did what? How?" she asks astonished.

"There was a backdoor in the computer system that I devised in Abnegation for just such an occasion," Tobias explains. "I used the back door to access the city's public announcement system so that everyone would see the video."

"We felt that it was important to show what the Abnegation were going to release and ultimately died for," Harrison explains. "We felt it was the prime opportunity to release the information and that it should be done immediately."

"Fine, but Tris," Tori says turning to me, "what does this have to do with your family?"

"I don't know. I have no idea who Edith Prior was. I don't know if she was related to my mother or my father, or even what faction she may have come to upon arriving here. My mother was Dauntless and my father was Erudite originally."

"Well what are we going to say to everyone?" Tori asks.

"Let Four talk to them. He can explain better than any of us I think," Zeke says.

Everyone nods and we walk together to the cafeteria where the sounds of shouting and confusion are deafening.


	38. Chapter 38

I don't own anything

Chapter 38

Tobias

We enter the cafeteria and Tris has a death grip on my hand. The noise level is deafening.

Tori stands on a table with a microphone and begins to yell into it, trying to get everyone's attention. After a few minutes of trying, Zeke takes the microphone and yells in his deep, rumbling, authoritative voice.

Zeke calms the room down to a quiet whisper after about a minute. He speaks into the microphone and addresses the crowd.

"We know that everyone wants to know what is going on. We are going to have Four come up and explain what you just saw."

I squeeze Tris' hand reassuringly and walk up and stand on a table. I take the microphone from Zeke and begin to talk.

"The attack on Abnegation and the orchestrated mind control and decimation of Dauntless was devised by Erudite to conceal the video you just witnessed. We have reason to believe that the Abnegation leaders were going to release this video to all of the factions following the end of initiation. The day it would have been released is coincidentally the day of the attack on Abnegation."

"But what does it mean?" someone speaks up.

"I don't know. I saw exactly what you saw. What I do know is Abnegation leaders died to protect this video from being destroyed and Dauntless soldiers were violated and used by the Erudite to decimate not just one but two factions. They systematically eradicated the Abnegation, which was our leaders and the Dauntless, which was our soldiers. But they didn't completely destroy the Dauntless!" the room erupts in pounding and shouts. When it dies down, I continue, "You are stronger now than ever before. You understand the capabilities of your enemy and are ready to fight back. And the Abnegation that have come here to learn to fight are ready to fight with you, side by side."

"We believe that the Erudite are going to retaliate now that the video is out. They did everything they could to conceal the truth, and now they are going to want to try to silence us for revealing the truth of our city and our way of life."

Zeke steps forward, "We need to keep those people who were hit by the simulation in Candor to step forward."

Marlene, Lynn, and Shauna all step forward. "We need to make sure there is someone who can be with them at all times. Their simulation can be activated any time Erudite chooses. Their safety needs to be one of our priorities."

Uriah steps forward, "I'll be responsible for them."

"It would be better if we had one person for each," Tori says. "Three people under simulation could overpower one person too easily. We will need three people to volunteer. The girls should move in with their protector."

"Marlene?" Uriah looks at her hopefully.

"I'll move in with Uriah," Marlene says blushing.

"Lynn, would you like to move in with me?" Lauren asks.

"Sure, whatever," Lynn says.

"Shauna, you can move in with me if you would like," Zeke says.

She smiles and nods in agreement.

"Okay that is settled. We need to make sure our people are safe, so we have also decided to suspend all fear simulations and the fear landscape until further notice. I don't want to risk using the serum and have the Erudite taking control of our people somehow."

The other leaders agree with that decision. We must air on the side of safety if we are going to defeat our enemies and win this war.

XXX

I find myself in the training room with the punching bags. I need to let off some steam and have found that training with the punching bags brings me some peace.

I think about all that has happened in the past couple weeks and I start to get angry. The inhalation of my faction, the death of Tris' family, her brother's inability to deal with what is happening, the realization that my mother is alive and is the leader of the factionless, my selfish abusive father, and a million other things race through my mind. The more I think the harder I punch and kick the bag.

Images continue to fly through my mind and I continue to abuse the punching bag in front of me. I carry on until I kick the bag so hard the chain holding it to the ceiling breaks and the bag crashes to the floor. My body is covered with sweat and I am breathing heavily. I turn toward the door, I guess I need to find a way to fix the bag. Standing in the door way is Tris, Zeke, Uriah, and Harrison. They stare at me in awe.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Um… Dude, do you know how difficult it is to break those chains?" Uriah asks.

"I'm sure they were just rusted or weak or something like that," I say.

"No, I just replaced the chains before the start of initiation," Zeke says.

"Four, I think you just need to admit to your strength," Harrison says. "It is hard to believe that you were Abnegation and you would have stayed Abnegation had this war not started. There is no doubt that you belong here."

"I was just thinking as I was working out," I say changing the subject. "We don't have many people here with us. I think it might be beneficial to ask the factionless for some help. In return we offer them some kind of incentive."

"How are we going to do that? And what would we offer them?" Zeke asks.

"I know how to contact them, there is someone I used to know there. As far as what we can offer, I don't know. Maybe a space within one of the factions, better jobs, or even a voice in the government. Their numbers are huge and they could be an asset if we could trust them. But that is the problem, I don't know if we can trust them. And I don't know if we can win against the Erudite and Candor that are under simulation without them. We are out manned."

"We have released the information that Jeanine was trying to keep hidden, why do we even have to go to war?" Tris asks innocently.

"Jeanine Matthews must be removed from leadership. She cannot be allowed to continue to create serums to control people. If she and the people that surround her are permitted to continue, it won't be long before they attempt to take over all of the factions. We have to put a stop to them before that happens," Harrison says.

"So who do you know in the factionless, Four?" Zeke asks.

"My supposedly dead mother lives among the factionless. Apparently Marcus abused her and she left him to go live with the factionless. She contacted me just before the choosing ceremony."

"What did she want?" Zeke says.

"She apologized for leaving me with Marcus for all of those years and she tried to convince me to join her with the factionless," I say.

"Really?" is all Uriah says.

"The problem is I don't think we could ever completely trust them. Most hold a grudge against the factions because they couldn't make it in whatever faction they tried to join. I think many of them would gladly try to take down the factions if given the chance. If we tried to join forces with them, we would have to limit the weapons they are given and try to keep them in check somehow," I say.

"We will have to think about this and make a decision soon. We also need to find a way to see what is going on in the other factions since the video played." Harrison says. "I think we should send out scouting groups to find out what is going on in the other factions."

"I'll go," Tris says.

"Sorry Tris, but you are not completely trained. I cannot send someone who has not mastered all aspects of our training out on a scouting mission." Harrison says.

She scowls, but he is right. And even if she were trained, I wouldn't want her out there on a scouting mission.

"Why don't we ask for volunteers and see what happens from there," Zeke suggests.

"That is a good idea, we can ask for volunteers today at dinner," Harrison says.

"What are we going to have them do?" Uriah asks.

"Well, we need to find out if the other factions saw our broadcast. If they did then we need to gauge their feelings on the broadcast. If not, then we will need to infiltrate their computer systems and upload the video and broadcast it individually to each faction. We should also make sure the factionless have seen the video also," I say.

"We should look to send out teams of three or four to each faction, so that is four groups of four, sixteen total," Zeke says.

"We should plan for them to leave out tomorrow. The sooner we have this information, the better prepared we can be for whatever is to come next," Harrison says.

"We should go tell Tori our plan," Zeke says.

"I'll take care of that. I want to head home anyway. My wife hasn't been real happy with the amount of time I have been spending working. I need to go spend some time with her and the kids for a while," Harrison says.

I look to Tris, "Are you ready to go home and relax a bit before bed?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'm pretty tired," she says.

We all go our separate ways and decide to meet just before dinner so that we can address the compound together.

Tris and I return to our apartment and get ready for bed. I take off my shirt preparing to change, but Tris comes up behind me on the bed and runs her fingers across my newly inked skin. She pulls me down with her on the bed. She brings her body close to mine and kisses me. I bring my hand from her cheek, and brush it down the side of her body. I place my hand at her tiny waist, and then slide it down to her hip, then her thigh. I can feel her body tremble at my touch and I can't help but wonder if it is fear or wanting that makes her tremble. She brings herself closer to me and she wraps her leg around my waist. This action shocks me a little but I don't fight it.

Her body starts to move and pulse with mine as our passion becomes more intense and desperate. I continue to kiss her while I slide my hand back up her thigh. I caress her backside, hip, and slide my hand under her shirt. I press my hand tightly to the small of her back to bring her closer to me, and then I slide my hand up her spine. I can feel her shiver even more. Her shirt creeps up her body and I can feel her bare stomach on mine.

Our kisses become even more fervent and eager. I remove my mouth from hers and begin to kiss her jaw and neck as my hand finds the back of her neck. Her shirt is up around the bottom of her breasts now. She tightens her hands around my shoulders and I can feel them tremble. I'm sure this tremble is more from fear than desire. I know that if I don't stop soon, this is going to go farther than I think she is ready for. But the passion continues. She continues to run her fingers across my back and chest. I can feel the goose bumps form at her touch. I pull back and she tries to pull be back in, but I stop her.

"Tris, we should stop. I don't want this to go farther than you are ready for."

"Who says I'm not ready," she says breathlessly.

The look on her face and the way her body trembles contradicts her words.

"I love you Tris and I want you more than you know. But I want you when you are ready, not when you are trembling like a leaf under my touch. I can tell you are terrified, and that is okay. We will wait until you are ready."

"Maybe you are right," she says. There are tears in her eyes and she looks sad and exhausted. "Who do you think Edith Prior was?"

"She must have been an ancestor of yours, but unless we can get into the records in Erudite, I don't know if there is really any way to know for sure."

"I wonder if my mom or dad knew who she was."

"I'm sure one of them did. It is sad we will never really know."

"I know one thing about my parents, they liked you. They were happy to bring you into our family. I will be forever grateful to them for that. I can proceed through the rest of my life knowing that they approved of my choices and they were proud of me."

She nestles her head into my chest and I can feel her warm breaths on my bare skin. Her shirt is still up around the bottom of her breasts so her bare stomach is pressed against mine still. I love the feel of her body next to mine. I press my hand to the small of her back and pull her closer to me again.

Soon sleep finds us both.


	39. Chapter 39

I don't own anything

Chapter 39

Tris

We wake to the sound of pounding on the door.

"Four, wake up. It's dinner time," the voice yells.

Tobias slides himself out of bed and goes to the door, forgetting to put on his shirt. Zeke is standing there with Tori and Harrison.

"It's dinner time. We need to get down there and make the announcement for volunteers," Harrison says.

I get out of bed and adjust my shirt and grab a shirt for Tobias and brush for me as I walk toward the door.

"Seriously Dude, you are from Abnegation. You are not supposed to be better built than the Dauntless. Do you care to explain how an Abnegation man gets so muscular when they aren't allowed to workout?" Zeke asks.

Tori snickers, "Zeke, you are ridiculous! We need to go, not talk about Four's muscles."

"Let's just say that I chose to volunteer in the sorting center moving crates of food around for a reason," Tobias says. "Besides, some of us don't wait for the muscle fairy to come and grant us muscles, we make them ourselves."

I hand Tobias the shirt and brush my hair as they talk. He puts the shirt on and it is one of the tighter ones that he just bought.

"See what I mean. Seriously, you need to go back to the baggy shirts you are going to distract the girls from looking at me all the time," Zeke whines jokingly.

"If the girls want to look at his muscles, they will have to look at me on his arm while they do it, Zeke," I say.

"Yeah, this is the only girl that gets to see my muscles. Well except for Tori of course," Tobias says.

Tori smiles, "Okay, can we quit talking about muscles and go please?"

Tobias takes my hand in his and we start down the hall toward the cafeteria with the others. We walk to the front of the crowed room and Tori steps up on a table with the microphone, much like she did yesterday.

She speaks loudly into the microphone until everyone stops talking. It doesn't require Zeke's loud booming voice like it did yesterday. After a few moments, the cafeteria is quiet and everyone is listening intently to what Tori is about to say.

"The other leaders and I have been talking about what we as a group should do next. We can't just sit here and wait to find out what is going on or wait for someone to attack us again. We need to find out if the other factions saw our broadcast. If they did then we need to gauge their feelings on the broadcast. If not, then we will need to infiltrate their computer systems and upload the video and broadcast it individually to each faction. We also want to make sure the factionless have seen the video as well."

Zeke steps up next, "We should look to send out teams of four to each faction, so that is four groups of four. We are looking for sixteen total volunteers to take on this task. We have decided that we are not going to let the Abnegation volunteer for this task because none of you have had the chance to complete our initiation and are therefore not as proficient with weapons or fighting are our full members."

"We should plan for the teams to leave out tomorrow morning. The sooner we have this information, the better prepared we can be for whatever is to come next," Harrison says. "It would be best for the teams to have transfers from each specific compound in order to better assimilate yourselves into the faction. Please see one of the leaders to volunteer."

"What are the Abnegation going to do? Sit back while the rest of us risk our lives?" someone asks from the back.

"I think Four can answer that question," Tori says handing him the microphone.

"The Abnegation will continue to train in hand to hand combat, they will also be required to take on jobs within the compound and earn their keep here. This is a scouting mission, not a battle. It is best for the amateurs to continue to master their skills so that they will be an asset when the battle does come."

Most people in the room nod their heads in agreement.

Will stands, "I will go to Erudite."

"Okay," Harrison says. "We need three more volunteers to go to Erudite."

Three more men stand and step forward with Will. Will transferred from Erudite and I found out that one of the others that volunteered transferred from Erudite as well.

Christina stands next, "I'll go to Candor."

Another woman and two men stand next to Christina. They all volunteer to go to Candor with her.

Next a man stands and volunteers to go Amity. He is quickly joined by two more men and one woman.

Finally Tobias steps forward, "I will go to the factionless."

Wait, what? They said no Abnegation will be going out on this mission. What is he doing?

Someone in the back speaks up, "You said this was a mission for skilled fighters."

"Do you know how Four got his nickname?" Zeke asks.

"No," the voice says.

"He has been taught to fight, he has mastered every weapon we have in Dauntless, and he has gone through his fear landscape," Zeke says. "I started calling him Four because he only has four fears and he mastered the landscape in eight minutes. Would anyone here say that he is an amateur? Would anyone like to challenge that?"

No one speaks up. They look at him with reverence, he has just assumed to true role of a leader in Dauntless.

"I will go to the factionless also," Uriah says standing.

"We need one more to go the factionless with us," Zeke says.

I step forward, "I have mastered the weapons almost as well as T… Four, and I will go through my fear landscape now if you want."

"You can't, they decided they are not allowing anyone to be injected with serum so they can't be controlled by the Erudite," Mike says.

"That is fine for most," I say. "But I'm Divergent, remember. The simulations don't affect me like other people. We know the Erudite have not been in here to change any of the serums recently. So if they have developed a serum that will work on the Divergent it isn't in the serum we have here."

Tori and Harrison nod, "Four do you have an objection to allowing one of your faction to go through the fear landscape?"

I know this question is more about me being his girlfriend than me being from his faction and him technically being my leader. He looks at me with a conflicted look on his face. He knows I can't just sit here and wait but at the same time he doesn't want me in danger.

"No objection, but that doesn't mean that she is definitely going to be in the group to go to the factionless," he says sternly.

"Okay, the groups are formed. We will meet in training room to discuss what time we will be leaving and what our missions are specifically at eight o'clock this evening. See you then," Tori says.

Tobias looks at me, "Are you sure you want to do this? You could just stay here and stay safe."

"I want to be with you. What is the point of being safe if you are out there somewhere hurt or worse? If we are together, we can protect each other."

Zeke come up behind us, "Tris, are you ready for this?"

"Yes, let's go."

We walk up to the fear landscape room where just a couple of days ago I watched Tobias go through his landscape. Today it is my turn. I can't help but wonder what my fears will be and how many I will have. Zeke said the average is ten to fifteen, I hope I don't have fifteen or more.

"We can watch through the computer screens or you can go in on your own, it is your choice," Zeke explains.

"I'll go in on my own," I say firmly.

Zeke gets the serum and injects it into my neck, "It will take effect in about a minute. We will be watching just like you and I did when Four went through his."

Tobias bends down and kisses me on the cheek then whispers, "Be brave, Tris."

I nod and enter the room, alone.

The simulation starts. I am alone in a field of tall grass; nothing can be seen in any direction. I look to the sky and it looks strange. It isn't the right color and it seems to be coming closer to me. Something lands on my arm and I realize that it is a black bird, a crow. It pecks my arm. I try to shake it off of me, but it digs it's talons into my flesh causing me to scream with pain. More crows dive in and land on or around me. They peck my flesh and ram into me knocking me off balance.

Think Tris, what did Zeke tell Tobias before his landscape? I have to calm my breathing or I have to face the fear.

So when the birds finally cause me to fall to the ground, I attempt to control my breathing. But nothing happens. The birds are getting more violent and starting to rip my flesh from my bones.

I can't think, the pain is unbearable and I hate not being in control of things. Then it hits me, it is about being in control. The first time I ever completely felt in control is when I learned to shoot.

I feel around the ground and find a gun in the grass, I pick it up and start to shoot at the birds. They fall to the ground one by one and the fear disappears.

Next I find myself in a glass box in the middle of a room. All of the initiates from Abnegation and some of the people that I have met in Dauntless are surrounding the glass box staring at me. The box begins to fill with water. I look around at the faces and they all stare blankly at me. I pound on the glass and scream for help. Then I notice Tobias standing among the crowd. He looks as blank as the rest of them do.

No, that isn't Tobias. He would never look through me like that. He would help me.

I kick, smack, and punch the glass, but it doesn't budge. I'm going to drown in this box and there is nothing I can do about it. I continue to kick and punch the glass, screaming for help and trying everything I can think of to get out.

The water has reached my hips and I force myself to calm down and think. I am Divergent, I can manipulate this simulation. What can I make this box be made out of that I can break? Then it comes to me… Ice!

I think over and over… the glass is ice, the glass is ice.

I kick it again and a crack forms where I impacted the box. I think harder… the glass is newly formed ice, it is fragile as newly formed ice.

I kick again and the box shatters and the room changes again.

Suddenly I'm thrown into rocks by a huge wave. I am in the middle of an enormous body of water. There is a small rock island in the middle. The wave crests and hurls down on me again. It knocks me under the water and holds me there like a large hand trying to drown me. I kick and swing my arms trying to find the surface and air. I've never learned to swim, so my struggle seems almost pointless.

Maybe I need to drown to move on, but I don't think so. I finally break the surface of the water and find that I am close enough to the rocks to grab hold of them. I pull myself onto the small rock island just in time for the next wave to smash into me. This time I hold onto the rock and brace myself for the wave's wrath. After the wave subsides, I climb higher out of the surf and gain control of my breathing.

The next fear comes and I am standing in Abnegation. All of the people from my initiate class, and most of the Abnegation and Dauntless communities are standing around me. They are all standing away from me, I'm alone.

They begin to chant "You will never be good enough for our factions. You don't belong to us. You are different. You will never be like us…"

The chants continue and then they all turn their backs on me. I see Susan in the crowd and call to her. "Beatrice, you aren't as selfless as me."

Then Felicia steps forward, "You aren't as pretty as me."

Then Tobias is in front of me, 'You will never be selfless enough, brave enough, or strong enough for me to really love you.'

The chants continue until I am cry hysterically.

I know I'm not good enough, I've never been good enough for anything. Caleb was always better at everything than I was. I was never good enough in school or at home, selfish and cowardly.

I slump to the floor and sob into my knees. Then I hear a small voice from far away. It is the voice of my mother, telling me to 'be brave'. Then I hear Tobias just before I went into the simulation and he also told me to 'be brave'.

I remember I'm in a simulation. This isn't real. I beat the crows by myself. I saved myself from the tank and the wild waves smashing my body into the rocks. I've stood up to these fears. I am good enough. Tobias chose me, he loves me. He stood up to his father and faced that fear, for me.

I stand and look at the people still chanting. I am not afraid to be proud of who I am. I'm not afraid to love Tobias and let him love me.

And the fear disappears.

It takes a moment for me to realize where I am. I am in my parents' house back in Abnegation. Then the pounding begins. Outside the window I can see dozens of bodies pounding on the doors and windows. They are pounding and knocking, trying to get inside, trying to get to me, and trying to kill me. Some of them look vaguely familiar, like people from my past.

They shake the doors, and attempt to open the windows trying to get in after me. They begin hacking at the door and busting the windows to get in after me. I run up the stairs and find my room, rush in and slam the door and lock it behind me. I look around the room and see that the walls are plastered with mirrors. This isn't right. There shouldn't be mirrors everywhere.

I hear the sound of people trudging up the stairs and down the hall toward my room. The footsteps grow nearer, and a panic rises inside me. I look around my room. I don't know what this fear is, and I don't know how to get out of it. I note of my closet, the only place to hide. I open the closet door, I need time to figure out how to get rid of the bodies.

I am trying to figure out what to do when I hear my bedroom door creak open. I try not to panic, and focus on how to get rid of them. Then I think, the best way for me to defend myself is with a gun. I need a gun. I imagine a gun being in the closet, and then feel around for it, but find nothing. I close my eyes and concentrate, imagining the feel of the cool metal in my palms. I slide my hands around once more and I find it, a high powered rifle. I pick it up and quietly open door. I take aim and fire. Over and over I fire the rifle at anything that moves in the room. When I'm done there are bodies and broken mirrors scattered around the room. Then there is nothing.

Now I'm standing in our apartment in Dauntless, but it looks different. There is nothing but a huge four poster bed made up with black satin sheets. The room is lit by candle light, it is very romantic.

What is this fear? Fire? Burning? Satin? I have no idea.

Then I see him. Tobias stands before me. He doesn't have his shirt on, showing his perfect physique.

I'm not afraid of Tobias.

Then he approaches me. He takes me in his arms and pulls me close to him. He places his lips on with mine. The kiss starts slow and sweet, and then builds. I feel the longing through me like there is a burning in the pit of stomach, a ravenous desire. I break away from the searing kiss to catch my breath and he pushes my hair from my shoulder. He begins to kiss my neck the soft spot just behind my ear. "Tris," he whispers against my ear, his breath tickles. He takes my hand in one of his and he wraps his other around my waist and guides us toward the bed. My body begins to tremble as I realize what is happening here. He walks us to the bed and sets me down on the plush mattress. He sits next to me and begins trailing his lips along my cheek, my ear, my jaw, my neck. He finds a sensitive spot somewhere and lightly sucks it. I hear a strange noise, and realize after the fact that I had moaned. Part of me wants to push him away, tell him to stop, that I'm not ready, but his touch feels so unspeakably good, I cannot find the strength to stop him.

He places his hand on my neck and runs his fingers gently down toward my shoulder, pushing my shirt down, and begins to kiss the newly exposed flesh. He glides his fingers slowly down my sides to my waist. He places his fingers just under the hem of my shirt and begins lifting my shirt up slowly. When he has completely exposed my stomach, I pull away from him. He doesn't stop though. He leans into me until I am lying back on my elbows. He hovers over me and kisses me again, harder.

This isn't my Tobias, he isn't this aggressive. He would never push me into having sex with him.

I sit up and shove him back off of me. He tries to come closer again, but I back away.

I am not having sex with him in a simulation. I look at him, shake my head, and say, '_not like this_.'

The bed disappears and I am standing in a room. My parents lie dead on the floor. There is a woman standing behind me with a gun to my head. In front of me stands Tobias and Caleb, there is a gun in my hand. The woman says, _'you have already killed your parents, now finish it.'_

Caleb tells me it is okay. Tobias says that he loves me and he understands. They try to consol me and make me feel better about what I am being told to do.

Tears stream down my face, I can't shoot them.

The voice says, _'Shoot them now or I will shoot you. You have to the count of five.'_

_Five…_

_Four…_

Suddenly the choice is clear, I look from Caleb to Tobias once more and turn and face the woman. It is Jeanine Matthews, leader of Erudite and the reason for the death of my parents and faction.

_Three…_

_Two…_

'_You are going to have to shoot me.'_

_One…_

I hear the shot, and I am back in the fear landscape room. I collapse to the floor and sob.


	40. Chapter 40

I don't own anything

Chapter 40

Tobias

Seven fears. She only has seven fears and it took just under nine minutes for her to complete her entire landscape. She drops to the floor and begins to sob but by time I enter the room, she is already standing, composing herself. She puts on a brave smile when she sees me enter the room. Her eyes are swollen from crying she doesn't want me to see her weak.

"So, seven fears?" I say with a smile.

"Not as impressive as four," she says.

"In Dauntless, that is very impressive," Zeke says entering the room. "And to get them all done in less than nine minutes? That is incredible."

"I was only in there for nine minutes?"

"Yeah, I know it seems so much longer when you are in there," I say.

"Well Tris, I think this means that you can go on the scouting mission into the factionless sector. The leaders will need to discuss the matter further, but I think you have proven yourself by Dauntless standards. You have excelled at every aspect of our training," Zeke tells her. "You have a couple hours before the meeting at eight o'clock. You should go rest and compose yourself."

I take her hand and we descend from the fear landscape room and make our way to our apartment. She is still shaken and is evading my eyes.

"You didn't see anything from my landscape?" she asks.

"No, only your reactions to what you were seeing. Like what you saw when I went through. Why?"

She looks down, "Nothing, it's nothing."

"Tris, you know you can tell me anything. Are you okay?"

She nods, "I want to go get a tattoo."

"Okay, let's go."

We walk into the tattoo parlor and Bud is in there. "Finally Tris, I was wondering when you were going to come see me," he says with a smile. "Do you know what you want to get?"

"No, but I figure when I see it, I'll know."

She walks over to the wall and looks at all of the pictures covering the walls. She stops at an image of a black bird in flight.

"It's a raven. It symbolizes change and transformation. In some ancient cultures, the Raven was believed to be a keeper of secrets, and could assist us in determining answers to our own hidden thoughts in areas in our lives that we are unwilling to face, or secrets we keep that harm us. They believed the Raven could help us expose the truth behind these secrets and wing us back to health and harmony," Bud explains.

"Wow that is amazing. I would like three of them on my collar bone. One for each of my family members that I have lost."

She sits in the chair and prepares herself for the sting of the needle.

About thirty minutes later Bud puts the healing cream on her and covers it with a bandage.

XXX

I lead her up to the apartment. I unlock the door and push it open to let her enter. We walk into the room and I remove my shoes and look at her. She looks nervous and a little upset. I walk up to her and place my hand on her cheek.

"You okay?" I ask her, brushing my fingers along her cheek. I place my hand on the side of her face then slide my fingers through her hair. I smile at her and draw her closer to kiss her.

I move my hands to her shoulders and push her jacket off of her and it hits the floor. She stiffens and pushes me away. She covers her face with her hands.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask her confused and a little hurt.

She shakes her head and turns away from me.

"Don't tell me it's nothing." I say a little annoyed. She is hiding something from me. I can feel hurt and a ting of anger building up in me. I grab her arm. "Hey. Look at me."

She takes her hands from her face and looks up at me.

"Sometimes I wonder," she says, trying to stay calm, "why you want to be with me. There are prettier girls than me. You are older, more experienced. It's just a little weird that, of all the girls you could have chosen, you chose me. "

I can't believe this. How could she think that? She is beautiful and brilliant. She is exactly the kind of girl that I want to be with. I have known it from the moment that I met her.

"What do you mean?" I say irritated. "You say this like I have been with tons of girls, like I'm shallow and only interested in one thing. This is ridiculous, Tris."

She blinks away her tears, and looks up at me, hurt. I didn't mean to hurt her with my words. "I'm going to leave now," she says, barely audible.

"No, Tris wait," I say. I grab her wrist and pull her back to me. She tries to pull away but I take her other wrist, and our arms are crossed. She is not going to leave until we work this out. I can't have her thinking that I'm just some guy trying to get her to do something that she isn't ready for.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I love you, I thought you knew that. I am with you because you are special, because from the moment that I met you I knew you were the girl that I wanted to be with. There have never been any other girls for me."

"You were an obstacle in my fear landscape." Her lip trembles and her voice shudders.

"What?" I step back from her, I feel like someone has just ripped my heart from my chest. "You're _afraid_ of me?" My stomach churns.

"Not you," she says, still fighting tears. What have I done to make her afraid of me? Have I been too forthcoming with my feelings? "Being with you…with anyone. I've never been involved with someone before, and…you're older, and I don't know what your expectations are, and…"

"Tris," I say, my voice soft and calm, "I don't know what delusion you're operating under, but this is all new to me, too." We have never talked about this. The weeks since the start of initiation have gone by in a whirlwind and we have never talked about any of this.

"Delusion?" She asks. "You mean you haven't…" she looks at me shocked. She thought I have been with other people. I feel uncomfortable as she looks at me. " I just assumed…" Her voice cuts off.

"Well, you assumed wrong." I look down feeling embarrassed. She's the first girl that I have ever had a relationship with. I've never been interested in anyone until I met her. "You can tell me anything, you know," I say. I move closer to her and I touch her face.

I kiss between her eyebrows, on her nose, then move my mouth to hers, trying to kiss her as gently as I can. I feel the familiar sense of electricity pulsing through me that I feel every time I kiss her. I wonder does she feel it to.

I take her hand and move into the bedroom. I sit down on the bed and pull her in front of me. I look into her eyes and kiss her throat and jaw. I run my fingers down up her arms to her shoulders and up neck then through her hair. She trembles under my touch and I have the same thought as always, am I scaring her? Does she feel like I'm pushing?

"Is this scaring you, Tris?" I ask.

"No," she says, she sounds terrified. "Not really. I'm only… afraid of what I want."

"What do you want?" I ask her, then I realize. "Me?"  
She nods her head slowly, not completely making eye contact with me.

I nod to her too. I'm terrified also, but I want desperately to be near her. I glide my fingers down her spine and place my hands on the small of her back and pull her closer to me. She wraps her hands around me and her hands find the bare skin under the hem of my shirt. She pulls the shirt up revealing the Dauntless flames on my side.

"Someday if you still want me, we can…" I pause, and clear my throat, feeling embarrassed.

She looks up at me and smiles, she pulls closer to me, she places her lips to mine before I can finish. She sits down on my lap and lays her head on my chest, just over my heart. My pulse is racing and I know she can hear it.

"Are you afraid of my too, Tobias?"

"Terrified," I say, a smile spreading across my face.

She turns and kisses my neck lightly.

"Maybe you won't be in my fear landscape anymore," she speaks softly.

Looking into her eyes I can see her fear, but it has subsided a bit. She leans in and kisses me, gently at first then when I place my hands on the small of her back, the kiss becomes more enthusiastic. She turns on my lap and straddles me. She wraps her legs around my waist and pulls herself closer to me. I feel like I am going to explode with desire. I reach my hands under the hem of her shirt and glide my finger tips up her bare spine. I grasp her shoulders from under her shirt and pull her tight to me. I pull away from the kiss and look into her eyes. Then I begin to kiss her neck, her jaw, and then back to her lips. I slide my hands back down her spine and I can feel her shiver.

I take my hands from under her shirt and pull away from the kiss again. I lean back on my arms across the bed and look at her. She smiles at me and unwraps her legs from my waist. She slides back off of my lap and lies on the bed next to me. We stay here and kiss, hug, and rest until it is time to leave.

XXX

We leave the apartment and head down to the training room where we will determine if she will be coming on this mission with us and what the purpose of this mission will be.

When we enter the room, Harrison, Tori, and Zeke are already there waiting. Uriah, Will and Christina walk in shortly after Tris and me. Uriah walks up to Harrison.

"Harrison, I need you to promise something for me."

"What do you need Uriah?" Harrison says with concern. "Is there something wrong?"

"I just need you to promise that you will look out for Marlene while I'm gone. If something happened to her while I'm away, I would never forgive myself."

"I will Uriah, I promise. I'll bring her to live with my family until you return. My daughters would love that."

"Thank you Harrison!" Uriah says and shakes his hand.

Uriah looks to Zeke, "What about Shauna?"

"She is going to stay with her parents along with Lynn. Lauren and Tori are going to help their parents watch over them until I return."

"Now to the next business, will Tris be accompanying you three on your mission?"

"Well, Tris did well in the fear landscape. She has seven fears and made it out in just under nine minutes."

"Seven fears?" Uriah asks.

"In just under nine minutes?" Will chimes in.

Christina looks at her and smiles, "That is amazing Tris, I bet you would have beat Uriah for first if you had transferred."

Uriah smiles, "Yeah, I had eight fears in nine minutes and fifteen seconds."

"Okay, before we vote on this, Tris, would you mind showing us your aim with knives and shooting?"

She steps forward and picks up a gun. She fires three rounds and all three hit the target the center. Tori and Harrison nod in approval.

Next she picks up three knives and they all find the center of the target as well.

"All in favor of allowing Tris to go on this mission, raise your hand."

I raise my hand immediately. I agree with what she said earlier. What is the point of one of us being safe if something happens to the other. At least I know if she is with me, I can keep her safe.

Zeke and Harrison both raise their hands also.

Tori looks at her and smiles, "I think the votes are in, you will be going with Four, Zeke, and Uriah to see the factionless."

"But what is your vote Tori?" Tris asks.

"My vote would be no, but it is for purely personal reasons."

"Why?" Tris asks.

"Because I knew your father. We were friends when we were kinds in Erudite. I wouldn't want to vote to put you into harm's way knowing that your father died to save your life."

"You knew my father?" Tris say with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, he was a good man and a good leader, Tris. I can see that you take after him a great deal. He would be very proud of who you are becoming."

I take her hand and squeeze. She smiles at Tori's words, they seem to make her happy and take a weight off of her.

The rest of the people that will be going on these missions enter the room and stand in their groups.

"So," I say. "What is the plan?"

"Well, we have clothes for you to wear to better assimilate yourselves into the compounds that you will be going to. You are going to see if the citizens of these factions actually saw the video and gauge their and the faction's reactions to the video. If you find that they did now see it, you are going to let us know and we are going to attempt to broadcast it again. Are there any questions?" Tori says.

Harrison chimes in, "Remember, do not let anyone know what you are doing. Stealth is necessary for this mission. The less people that know what you are doing and why, the safer you will be and the easier it will be for you to come home."

"Yeah, what about us?" Uriah says.

"Four will tell you what you will be doing, that mission is a little more… delicate," Tori says.

Uriah, Zeke, and Tris look at me expectantly.

XXX

I lead them out of the room and toward my apartment. This information I don't want just anyone to know. Tris already knows, but it is time to share with Zeke and Uriah.

"Four, what is with all the secrets?" Uriah asks.

"Wait till we get to my apartment please."

We enter the apartment and we all congregate in the living space. The three of them sit on the couch while I sit on a chair facing them.

"My mother is the leader of the factionless. I know everyone thinks that he factionless live as solitary individuals, but they don't. They have basically formed their own faction. They work together to get food and supplies and distribute them to everyone. A couple weeks before the choosing ceremony, she contacted me trying to get me to come with her and live with the factionless. I believe that we need to go, see if they saw the broadcast and if they didn't, make sure they do. Then I think we gauge their feelings and see if they would be interested in pairing with us to try to take down Erudite."

"Do you trust her, or any of them?" Zeke asks.

"No, I don't trust them at all. We will need to be very careful. It is important that they trust us, even though we don't trust them."

"What's the plan?" Uriah asks.

"We get there, I tell someone my name and they take us directly to my mother. From there we try to find out about the video. That is the most important thing. Then we see about a partnership to take out Erudite after we have made sure that they all have seen the video."


	41. Chapter 41

I don't own anything

Chapter 41

Tris

Eight o'clock in the morning comes rather quickly. I was barely able to sleep last night because of anticipation. Tobias and I talked and just lay together trying our best to sleep. I think I dozed for a while, but I didn't feel nearly long enough.

When the time comes we rise and begin to get ready for the day. We each shower and get dressed in all black. We are not trying to blend in like the rest of the groups. The success of our mission depends on the factionless recognizing Tobias for who he is. Although we should both be wearing grey, we have long since lost our grey clothing that we came here with.

We meet Uriah and Zeke in the cafeteria. We are the only team who hasn't gone yet. We are all leaving in shifts based on the train schedule and where it is taking us. Our destination is in the opposite direction of the rest of the factions and we didn't want to travel together and risk people supposedly from multiple factions being seen together.

We go to the armory and load ourselves with various weapons that we are capable of hiding under our clothing. I have a gun strapped to each of my ankles just above my boots where my jeans will hid the bulge, a knife in my waist band and another smaller knife in my bra strap. All the guys have guns in their waist bands in the smalls of their backs, a gun strapped to their ankles like me, and knives hidden in various places on each of them. And we have the most important part of this mission, the file that exposes what Erudite was trying to hide by killing all of the Abnegation. This file is the reason for the war, for this mission, and for any future conflict between the factions. This file means success or failure.

Soon we are ascending to the outside world. It seems like it has been forever since we've seen the sun. It is warm on my exposed skin, it feels wonderful. I bask in the bright cheerful glow until the train whistle jars me back to reality. I hadn't realized how much I missed the feel of the sun and what I missed by never actually having felt it on my exposed arms.

The train arrives and we all fall in stride with it. Zeke pulling himself up into the train with ease first then extending his arm and helping me on next. Tobias and Uriah quickly join just behind us.

"We have about a thirty minute ride," Zeke announces over the wind.

We all nod and Tobias takes my hand. He pulls me over to a wall and slides down to sit, pulling me down with him. Uriah and Zeke sit nearby. We sit in silence for a while at the train transports us to what can turn out to be our greatest asset or our biggest defeat. The cooperation of the factionless can make or break this mission.

"What is the first thing we are going to do here?" Uriah asks.

"I think the first thing would be to find Evelyn, my mother. I actually have an idea as to how to get them to trust us, but I'm not sure how well it would go over."

"What?" I ask.

"Well, seeing as most of Abnegation is now gone. There are houses there that are going to remain unused even if what is left of the Abnegation return. Why not let the factionless move into those houses. We can gain their trust and make sure they are in a place that they will have access to the broadcast. I ran the control room in Abnegation, I know how that room works and how to broadcast the video from there."

We all sit quietly and think about this for a while. I don't like the idea of some factionless person living in my house, but he is right and it would be selfish to not offer the empty houses to the factionless out of sentimental reasons.

Zeke is the first to speak up, "I think it is a good plan. It makes complete sense."

Uriah agrees, and then all their eyes turn to me. "What?" I ask, uncomfortable with their gazes all fixed on me.

"Honestly, you opinion on this matters more than anyone's. You father was a leader, your mother did more community service than anyone I've ever met and this was our home. Your home."

I think about this for a long time. This was my home, and although the thought of the factionless living in my parents' house does not thrill me, I see the necessity here.

I finally decide to speak, "My parents died to make sure this video was seen by all of the factions. They risked their lives to expose the truth of our lives and the deception of the Erudite. Who am I to soil their legacy by not agreeing that this is a good idea? My only request is that we save my parents' house for Caleb, in case he ever decides to return."

Tobias tightens his grip on my shoulder and kisses my head. "It's settled then."

We ride the rest of the way in silence. I think we all know what we are going to do now, there is no need to discuss it any further.

XXX

We jump from the train and walk the streets of the city with no real destination. We know where the factionless sector is, but don't know where Evelyn would be held up.

A factionless man looks as though he is going to approach us, but when he sees the black clothes, he turns back. Tobias and Zeke run after him and stop him from disappearing into one of the buildings. He is dressed in the multiple colors of the factions, jeans, a red shirt, grey shoes and has a black eye patch. He is dirty and unkempt.

"We are looking for someone," Zeke says.

"We are looking for Evelyn," Tobias adds.

"What? I don't know no Evelyn," the man says. "Harass someone else you hoodlums."

"I know you know who Evelyn is all of the factionless know who she is. Now tell me where I can find her," Tobias says forcefully. The glare on his face is terrifying.

"I told you, I don't know no Evelyn. Now leave me alone!" the man says.

I walk up to him and hand him some food from my pack, it is an old habit but it might just help. When I get closer to him I can see that he isn't really an older man like I had thought, he is my age, sixteen or seventeen at the most.

"Thank you girl. But I still can't help you," his words to be aren't as urgent or filled with fire.

"But you do know who we seek, don't you?" I ask gently.

He nods slightly.

"What if I told you that we might be able to help you, to help you all if you direct us to Evelyn?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "I just can't."

"Listen, I'm going to tell you something that you can't tell anyone else, okay?"

He looks at me expectantly. The others look at me with a strange combination of confusion and wonder. They probably aren't sure what I'm doing here, but they aren't the only ones. I'm just going on instinct here.

I gesture toward Tobias, "You see that guy over there? The tallest one with the blue eyes?"

"The scary one?" the man says.

I snicker, "Yeah, the scary one. Only he really isn't so scary, you see he needs to find Evelyn. It is important, she is his mother. His name is Tobias Eaton."

Tobias looks shocked that I just offered this man this information, but he doesn't protest.

"You see, he is just trying to find his mother to talk to her," I explain.

"And what about the rest of you?" he asks.

"Well, these are our friends. And I am Tobias' girlfriend."

The man studies me for a few moments, "You aren't completely Dauntless are you? You were Abnegation. I remember you, you came around with your mother once while initiation was going on. You look just like her. She was the kindest woman that I ever met. You have her kindness in you too."

He pauses for a moment and his demeanor changes to one of authority, much like Zeke, Uriah, and Tobias. "Follow me, I'll take you to Evelyn. Besides if she found out I turned her son away she wouldn't be real happy with me."

"Wait a minute, what happened?" I ask. "You were just so passive."

"That is my act for the other factions. Most of us aren't the ruined people that you think we are," he says.

"Oh I see, so you were playing me? Playing my sympathies?" my voice angry and bitter.

"There is the fire. I knew it was there," he says. "You play the Abnegation well, born and raised right? But you also have the Dauntless fire in you. You can't deny it. There is also an extreme intelligence."

"How do you know it isn't all an act?" I ask bitterly. It annoys me that this guy has pretty much figured me out in a matter of minutes. Tobias takes my hand and squeezes. He begins to speak, but I cut him off before he has a chance.

"Do you care to explain how you could possibly know me at all?" I ask.

"I don't know you, but I can read you. Here with the factionless, you either learn to read people quickly or you die. That is just the way it is. I knew when I saw you during initiation handing out food that there was more than met the eye with you."

"I recognize you," Uriah says. "You were the guy that was stabbed in the eye in the transfer's dorm."

"Yeah, and you were a Dauntless born, so?"

"So? So why did you leave?"

"I got stabbed in the eye, it doesn't take an Erudite to realize that I needed the hell out of there. Just please tell me that prick that stabbed me got kicked out or something."

"No, he didn't. He was placed like fifth or sixth I think. He went on to torture more people after you. He tried to kill me when I outranked him in the end," Uriah explains

"First were you? Yeah, so was I before I left," he says.

"Well, just so you know, this scary guy as you call him shot Peter in the arm from about a foot away with a rifle."

He smiles at Tobias, "Good shot! I would have loved to see that. By the way, my name is Edward."

We walk along quietly for a while. Then Edward announces, "We are here, follow me."

He leads us into a building and through a maze of corridors to a back area. "Come on," Edward says. "She's back here."

"What's going on here? Why are you all together like this?" I ask. I never imagined that the factionless would create their own community.

"You thought they- we- were all split up?" Edward smirks. "Well, they were, for a while. Too hungry to do much of anything except look for food. But then the stiffs starting giving them food, clothes, tools, and everything. And they got stronger and waited. They were like that when I found them, and they welcomed me."

We continue down a dark hallway to a back room. We stop at a metal door and Edawrd pounds on it.

"Wait, you said they were waiting?" asks Zeke. "What were they waiting for, exactly?"

"For the world to fall apart," Edward answers. "And now it has."

The door opens and a cruel looking woman with a lazy eye stands in front of us. "Strays?" she asks.

"Not hardly, Therese. This is Tobias Eaton." Edward points over his shoulder.

The woman stares at me for a few moments and said, "He certainly is. Hold on."

She closes the door and we stand and wait. I am becoming more apprehensive by the moment. I already know that Tobias' father doesn't approve of me, what if his mother thinks I'm worthless too? Will it change his mind about being with me?

The door opens to admit us into the room. We are lead through a maze of rooms and hallways to another set of metal doors.

Evelyn sits behind a desk. She has a look of authority about her. Tobias reaches down and takes my hand and holds tight. I feel like all of the oxygen has been sucked out of the room.

"Evelyn," Tobias says.

"Hello," Evelyn says. She walks around the table and begins looking Tobias over. His face becomes stone serious. "You look older."

"Yes, well nine years tends to do that to a person," he says coldly.

I tighten my grip on his hand, just to let him know that I'm here for him. He looks a lot like his mother. She is quite pretty and has a regal quality to her.

"So you've finally come…" Evelyn begins.

"Not for the reasons you think. We are here to talk to you about allowing the factionless to take over some of the houses in Abnegation."

"Oh really? And how do you as Dauntless have that authority?"

"You know I wasn't Dauntless, you know I was Abnegation," Tobias says.

"Yes you were, but it seems you have changed," she says. "Choices can be made as again."

"Look, I've heard that some Abnegation are staying here. My thought is that they move back to their homes and the factionless that have been protecting them to this point move into the empty houses. This gets them back to their homes and gives at least some of the factionless homes for a while," Tobias says.

"That is not a bad idea, what is in it for you?" Evelyn asks.

"I know that my faction is being taken care of and the Erudite or some other faction isn't taking over our homes. We will help with the move, and then return to Dauntless."

"Okay, how are we to know what houses are left empty due to the attack."

"I worked in the control room in Abnegation, I have access to that information in the computer systems. I can go there and give you house numbers and other pertinent information while my friends here help you to gather the Abnegation and the people you want to move."

She looks at him skeptically. I don't know if he is doing a very good job convincing her, but she agrees.

"We will need to do this soon, we need to get back to Dauntless," Tobias says.

I look down at the maps strewn across her desk.

"Those are population counts," I say. "What population are you tracking? The factionless?"

She looks at me a bit surprised. "And who are you? I thought you were Dauntless or Abnegation, you don't seem like either."

"This is Tris, that is Zeke and Uriah," Tobias chimes in. "She is Abnegation."

"Well, I'm sorry. But I cannot answer those questions," Evelyn says looking from my face to mine and Tobias' hands laced together. "Am I to assume that this is your girlfriend, Tobias?"

"Yes, she is," he says firmly, tightening his grip on my hand. "Look Evelyn, we should go see the Abnegation now."

She nods and we exit the room.


	42. Chapter 42

I own nothing!

Chapter 42

Tobias

She motions for us to move toward the door. I follow behind Tris, Evelyn walks up behind me.

"I'm not stupid," she says to me. "I know you want nothing to do with me, though I still don't quite understand why."

I snicker at her. I she serious? She abandoned me with a sadistic abuser, faked her own death, and left me to be beaten and tortured for seven years before I could get myself out.

"But," she continues, "I will extend my invitation again. We could use your help here, and I know you are like-minded about the faction system."

"What makes you think I am interested in spending time anywhere near you?" I stop to look at her and through my anger I can see that Tris has slowed her pace to stay with me.

"Because I'm your mother. Because you're my son." Evelyn looks like she is ready to cry, but I just don't care. How dare she choose now to be a mother? She could have been a mother numerous times over the past nine years and she chose not to be. It wasn't until my success in Dauntless that she sought me out for help.

"You really don't get it. You don't have the vaguest notion of what you've done to me." My hands are trembling from the fury that I am feeling inside of me. This the woman that abandoned me, the woman that never made sure that I was being taken care of, the woman that never looked back once she left.

"You'll have to tell me what's going on here if you expect me anything more from me," I tell her. "Tell me about the map that Tris pointed out." If Tris found something important about that map, I'm sure there is something.

"Your friend was correct in thinking that the map charts population. The numbers document certain factionless. Can you guess which ones?"

I hate guessing games. I hate when people feel the need to say things like that, basically telling you to figure it out on your own.

"I'm not in the mood for guessing," I growl at her.

"The Divergent. We're documenting the Divergent."

"How do you know who they are?"

"Before the simulation attack, part of the Abnegation aid effort involved testing the factionless for a certain genetic anomaly," she explains to me. "Sometimes that testing involved re-administering the aptitude test. Sometimes it was more complicated than that. But they explained to us that they suspected we might have the highest Divergent population of any group in the city."

"I don't understand. Why…"

"Why would the factionless have a high Divergent population?" Evelyn smiles at me. "Obviously those who can't confine themselves to a particular way of thinking would most likely leave a faction or fail its initiation, right?"

I see, so the Abnegation was tracking genetic anomalies to track the Divergent population, and now Evelyn is doing the same.

"Look Tobias, I know you need help with Erudite. I know you aren't here solely to make sure the Abnegation are taken care of. You need the factionless to fight this war and we need weapons to defend ourselves. It could be a perfect partnership."

"Let's just get to the Abnegation for now. I am not really a Dauntless leader, I am the Abnegation's elected official in Dauntless, and a spokes person here. We will need to discuss the situation and decide how to proceed."

She nods and we continue out of the building.

I catch up to Tris who was attempting to wait for me while I argued with Evelyn. She smiles at me and takes my hand. I feel the electricity pulse from her hand to mine, I feel this every time I touch her. Together we catch up with Zeke and Uriah.

"So, what do you guys think?" I ask quietly.

"It seems to me," Zeke says after a long pause, "that the factionless are better friends than enemies."

"Maybe," Tris responds. "But what would the cost of that friendship be?"

I shake my head. She may very well be right. What would be the cost of partnering with the factionless? I have a feeling that if they were to become armed like the Dauntless, they could upset everything. I am not willing to trade one tyrannical faction trying to take over for another.

"I don't know," I say shaking my head again. "But we may not have any other option."

"We are going to have to see what else is happening here and make a decision based on that. For now let's stick with the plan. We get the Abnegation and as much of the factionless into the Abnegation sector and we broadcast the video," Zeke says.

We all agree and proceed to the Abnegation.

XXX

I stand in a room surrounded by a group of approximately thirty Abnegation refugees.

"Our plan is simple, we want to get you all home and bring in the factionless that have been protecting you to continue to protect you. Our plane is to allow them to move into the homes of the perished men and women of the sector so that they can properly protect you from future threats."

"Who gives Dauntless the right to make these decisions? If it weren't for the Dauntless this wouldn't have happened," one Abnegation man says.

"Sir, I am Abnegation. My name is Tobias Eaton. I am not a leader, nor do I claim to be. But some of our other Abnegation friends who are hiding out in Dauntless have asked me to be their spokes person between our faction and the Dauntless. I have been working very closely with the Dauntless to remedy the situation."

Tris steps forward, "My father was an Abnegation leader, Andrew Prior. He lost his life defending our faction and trying to save us all. He trusted Tobias to lead the Abnegation to safety. We need to follow this plan and get everyone home where they belong. It would be selfish for there to be so many homes available in our faction and not offer to allow the factionless to stay there. They have provided for you and protected you since you arrived here."

She nailed it. She knows exactly where and how to hit the Abnegation to get them to do what she wants.

They all begin to nod and agree.

"We need to get you all packed up and moved within the hour," I say. Then I turn to Evelyn, "I expect you will be accompanying them to Abnegation and helping to keep the factionless in line?"

"Yes, I will."

I turn to Zeke and Uriah, "Tris and I are going to go ahead and look through the computer system so that we can see what houses are currently available for the factionless to take. When you guys get them safely to Abnegation, come to the control room in Abnegation headquarters."

They nod. "See you in a couple hours," Zeke says.

XXX

Tris and I walk back into Abnegation. I feel like the air is heavier here threatening to suffocate me. I look over at Tris and can see tears forming in her eyes. She tries to blink them away, but they just keep coming. We walk toward headquarters and pass the sorting center and the initiate house in the process. There are lots of wonderful memories for us there. This is where we fell in love. I smile a little remembering the first time I kissed her on the roof of the initiate house under the cloudless starry sky.

We get into the control room and I get to work while Tris is lookout for anything out of the ordinary. She has drawn one of her guns and is ready for any issues that may arise.

While I'm working, Tris hears a noise outside and goes to investigate while I finish with the video. It is ready to be broadcast as soon as the factionless and Abnegation are settled into their new homes. I retrieve the list of homes that can be occupied by the factionless when I hear two voices in a very heated conversation.

"You are not good enough for my son, you need to back off and let him find someone worthy of him." Evelyn's voice.

"Tobias loves me, and I love him. If he wanted someone else he could have chosen someone else, he chose me. He pursued me. There were plenty of other girls that wanted him to notice them. He didn't. Hell even Dauntless girls look at him like they want him to notice them. He only looks at me."

"I'm his mother, I know what is best for him. Not some pathetic excuse for a girlfriend. You are temporary."

"Yeah, some mother you were. You left him with a sadistic, abusive, violent man who enjoyed beating him to a bloody pulp then locking him in a tiny room and starving him for days. You deserve mother of the year!" Tris growls at her.

I walk outside at this just in time to see Evelyn attack Tris. Tris moves easily out of the way and kick Evelyn in the back causing her to fall on her face.

"Look Evelyn, I don't want any trouble. We are here to help you, not have problems," Tris tries to reason.

Evelyn get up off of the ground and attempts to attack again. Tris easily sidesteps and grabs Evelyn's arm, flipping her onto her back. She stands overtop of Evelyn.

"I've been trained by the Dauntless to fight. My fighting partner was Tobias, you can't beat me. I suggest you get over yourself and stop this before you get hurt."

Evelyn growls and stands again, she looks like she is ready to attack again. I step out of the building and catch Evelyn's eye.

"You have quite the fiery girl here," she says looking at me. "I guess I can see the attraction."

Tris turns around and looks at me with concern on her face. She runs over to me, "I'm sorry, I had to defend myself."

"Tris, you were amazing. I never taught you how to flip someone like that."

"Uriah taught me that, said it might come in handy someday."

"Well I guess he was right."

I turn to Evelyn, "You need to back off when it comes to Tris. I will be marrying her some day, so you will either get used to it, or you won't be part of it."

Tris takes my hand. "I have found you a house to live in, you should know it well," I say to Evelyn.

"Isn't Marcus there?"

"I don't know where he is, nor do I care. Last time I saw him he was on his way to Amity with a small group of Abnegation."

She nods and walks away toward the house that she used to call her home.

I look at Tris in awe. "What?" she asks.

"That was amazing fighting. I guess I don't have to worry about you as much as I thought I would. You can hold your own just fine."

"Don't stop worrying about me. I like when you are protective. But I also liked standing up for myself," she says with a smile.

"I will never stop worrying about you," I say and kiss her on her cheek.

"Okay, that is enough of that crap!" Uriah says. "Time to get these people to their homes."

The Abnegation go to their homes and begin to clean up the mess that was left from the attack. We show the factionless to the homes that they will be occupying.

"Please understand that there are Abnegation still in Amity that we are not aware of who they are right now. If they return and you are in their house, please have courtesy and move houses for them," I explain.

No one argues, I think they are happy to actually have a real house and real beds to stay in, even if it is temporary.

Once all of the houses are occupied, we go to my old house that overlooks the Ferris wheel in the distance. Tris allowed her house to be given to a factionless family and the other initiates houses were also give to factionless families. If the four that are in Dauntless want to return, they can reclaim their houses.

"When do we need to go back to headquarters to start the video?" Zeke asks.

"No need," I smirk. "I have it setup so it will automatically begin playing in five minutes. I thought that would be better so we can judge the reaction of the people easier."

"Brilliant man! Totally brilliant!" Uriah exclaims.

"Well then, let's get out there and see what happens," Zeke says smiling.

**Over 10,000 view? That is amazing. Thank you all for reading! I hope I am doing the story enough justice. Please let me know if I am bringing out the true Tris enough or not. I purposely kept her more Abnegation until this point. She had to find her way in this new world without being a bad ass, because let's face it, at first she wasn't a bad ass at all! It took a while for her to find herself. It had to take a little longer here because she was Abnegation and remained there, she wasn't learning to fight, she was learning how to forget herself. **


	43. Chapter 43

I own nothing!

Chapter 43

Tris

We walk to the house that Tobias grew up in. His house was right across the street from my house, which is still vacant. I'm happy to see that my parents' house hasn't been violated by factionless. Tobias' house has been.

We enter the house and Evelyn sits like a queen among her servants in the living room. They are sitting around passing around food and relaxing on the comfortable furniture. They look so out of place in their multi-faction clothing and their disheveled hair. In Abnegation men wear their hair very short and the women wear their hair in tight buns. Their clothes are grey and baggy, their homes are plain.

The four of us decided to station ourselves around the faction to gauge reaction to the video that is going to start at any moment. Tobias wanted to see what Evelyn's reaction will be, so we decided to come here first.

The video begins and everyone looks shocked. They haven't seen a government broadcast since they were in a faction, so this is new to him.

Edith Prior comes onto all of the screens in Abnegation, just like she did in Dauntless yesterday. The video is just as disturbing the second time through as it was the first time. I don't need to feign shock, the images of war and the decimation of our ancestors is alarming enough for me to show surprise and dismay.

The factionless sit around and stare as the images of war and famine flash by and as Edith speaks, you can see the terror on their faces. Even Evelyn looks shocked, she usually seems so self-possessed. She looks to Tobias and I with alarm on her face. She asks silent questions with her eyes that she dare not verbalize.

There is silence on the street where there was just the bustling noise of the factionless moving around. Everyone in the area has stopped and are watching the monitors that are scattered around. Taking in all of the horror and unpleasantness of what this ancient war did.

Edith Prior comes back onto the screen and announces the name that she took when she voluntarily lost her memory and locked herself behind the gate. Then the screens are black.

There is silence for a moment before the room erupts in yelling, accusations, and panic.

XXX

Evelyn approaches Tobias, "What was that all about?"

"I don't know, I saw what you saw," he says. We decided to play dumb, at least at first. The truth will have to come to light soon, but for now we play along.

"Before the attack, my father said there was something that the Abnegation was going to release to all of the factions that would change the way we see our world. I wonder if that was it," I say.

"Well, what does it mean? Our world is some kind of experiment?" she asks.

"I don't know what it means. But we believe this is the information that Erudite murdered one faction and enslaved another for," I say firmly.

"So you have seen this before?" Evelyn asks accusingly.

"Yes, we have. It was broadcast in Dauntless. We have had time to think about what it means. To us it means that we need to take down Erudite before they attempt to enslave all of the factions to keep the world functioning in its current state, which is unacceptable," Tobias explains.

"And what are you expecting?" Evelyn asks.

"I'm not expecting anything," Tobias says. "I learned a long time ago not to count on my parents. However I feel that every citizen has the right to know what is happening in the city."

"We need to talk about this and what it means."

"I would love to stay here and debate this with you, but right now there are people going out into the streets looking for answers. We need to go give them answers," Tobias says.

The streets begin to fill with factionless and Abnegation, confusion and distress plastered on their faces. We pour out of the house with Evelyn behind us still questioning and throwing allegations at us.

We find Zeke and Uriah. "Well, this is going well," Uriah says sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, this is just like Dauntless," Zeke says. "I think someone needs to step up and talk to them."

Everyone looks at Tobias expectantly. "Me? Why me? This is Evelyn's domain."

"Me? You brought this here. You broadcast it without my knowledge and approval. If you want to try to calm the crowd that would be your job!" she says.

"Fine, follow me to headquarters. Get as many people to follow you as you can."

We walk toward headquarters getting people to follow us as we go. When we make it there the four of us and Evelyn climb the steps so that everyone on the street can see us from where they stand.

Tobias raises his hands gesturing for silence. When the noise has died down he begins to address the crowd.

"This video was sent to all of the factions from Abnegation during the attack. That means that one of the Abnegation leaders or someone with knowledge of this sent it before it could be destroyed. The attack on Abnegation and the orchestrated mind control and decimation of Dauntless was devised by Erudite to conceal the video you just witnessed. We have reason to believe that the Abnegation leaders were going to release this video to all of the factions following the end of initiation. The day it would have been released is coincidentally the day of the attack on Abnegation. What I do know is Abnegation leaders died to protect this video from being destroyed and Dauntless soldiers were violated and used by the Erudite to decimate not just one but two factions. They systematically eradicated the Abnegation, which was our leaders and the Dauntless, which was our soldiers. But they didn't completely destroy either faction! We are still here, we are still fighting."

Tobias continues, "We believe that the Erudite are going to retaliate now that the video is out. They did everything they could to conceal the truth, and now they are going to want to try to silence us for revealing the truth of our city and our way of life."

"What do you want us to do?" someone yells from the crowd.

"We want you to fight. We want you to step up and help us to protect our city. Half of the Dauntless are traitors working for Erudite. The other half is poised and ready to fight when the fight comes. But we may need help. Over half of the Candor have been injected with a simulation serum that can be activated at any time, from anywhere. They will most assuredly be used by the Erudite."

"You are Abnegation, how can you make decisions for the Dauntless?" someone else yells.

"Tobias has gone through the Dauntless initiation, as has Tris. The Dauntless leaders have decided that they are also part of our faction. Tobias was nominated as one of our leaders by the Abnegation that are currently training in Dauntless. When Tobias speaks, he is speaking for the Dauntless leaders," Zeke explains.

"Are you a Dauntless leader? Can you speak for them?"

"Yes, I am a Dauntless leader. I have the authority to speak for the other Dauntless leaders," Zeke says.

Shouts erupt from the crowd again. Some yelling for retaliation against Erudite, some yelling to suppress the rebellion.

Evelyn steps forward, she raises her hands much like Tobias did and the crowd calms. "We factionless have always been looked down upon and taken for granted, except for by the Abnegation. They made sure we were fed and given clothing and other necessities, it is now our turn to take care of them. I vote that we help the Dauntless to protect the Abnegation and the other factions."

The factionless raise their voices to Evelyn in consent.

She turns to Tobias and Zeke, "There will be certain arrangements that will need to be made and we will have to come to a clear understanding about what is going to happen after this is said and done."

Zeke and Tobias nod and Zeke says, "We invite you and one of your compatriots to the Dauntless compound tomorrow at noon to discuss those arrangements. Someone will meet you at the tracks outside the glass building and escort you inside."

"We will be there," she says and turns away.

I look to Tobias and he smiles and pulls me into a hug. We all turn and start back to the tracks. It is time to go home, back to Dauntless.


	44. Chapter 44

I own nothing!

Chapter 44

Tobias

Once we return to Dauntless we have to debrief with Tori and Harrison before we can go eat and go to bed. All of the teams have returned from their mission, except for the Erudite team. Christina is terrified that Will hasn't returned yet.

"We cannot wait for the Erudite team to return, we will begin without them," Tori says. "Let's begin with Amity."

The leader of the Amity group stands, "Our mission was quite easy, the original broadcast found its way to Amity with no problem. They are pretty much standing their ground and vying for peace as opposed to action. Although there were quite a few Amity citizens that were not happy about this decision and wanted action. I believe we can get those Amity on our side if we need them with little problem. I believe they will still push for peace, but they will be more active in the cause."

"Thank you Blaze. Candor leader, you're next."

Christina stands, "The Candor also saw the original broadcast. They are still trying to get Erudite to leave them alone and not activate the serum. At last count, two-thirds of the faction is currently wired for simulation. The simulation was activated yesterday on three Candor members; one of them was my sister. They were forced to go to the roof, I followed and was able to save two of them, but one was forced to jump to her death. The Erudite can also talk through this simulation. They basically warned of more deaths if Divergent didn't start showing up to Erudite."

"We have to stop them," Tris says.

"Yes we do, but not by giving ourselves up to them. They are going to kill the Divergent, we have to stop them by taking up arms against them," I tell her.

We are all quite for a moment. I try to think of a way to stop the Erudite the fastest way possible.

Tris speaks up, "It seems to me that the best way to take down Erudite would be to take out their computer systems. If their computers don't work, then they can't activate the simulation."

"And how are we going to do that?" Christina asks.

Just then the door opens and Will staggers in with two of his three teammates. He looks to be in pretty bad shape, but he will survive.

"I have already laid the groundwork for a complete computer shut down at Erudite. I was able to convince my sister to help me, she is now on her way to Amity as a refugee."

"What happened to you?" Christina yells, running over to him and wrapping her arms around him to steady him.

"We were just about out when some Dauntless recognized Neil, they started shooting at us. We had to jump from a second story window to escape, Neil didn't make it. He was shot in the back. We had to load the video and play it for the faction when we got there. Somehow they stopped it before it played too long the first time. They couldn't stop it the second time though, my sister put some kind of protection on it so it had to run through before it could be stopped. They were furious and were demanding revenge."

"What is this groundwork for a complete shutdown?" I ask.

"We will have to go to the control room, my sister sent all necessary files to Dauntless, Candor, and Amity. We need to make sure we have all of those files before we shut them down. We are going to fight them with a computer virus."

"What files?" Tori asks.

"All of their medical files, the work on growing food, creating medications, and other things like that. Things that are necessary for our survival. We didn't want to lose all of their work. Erudite has done some wonderful things. It is just Jeanine's work on the serums that is a problem. The only thing is, we aren't sure if this virus will destroy her personal computer. Cara knows how to access her personal computer, but it isn't connected to any other computer. She tried to place a virus in it, but I don't know if she was successful."

"Well, let's go to the control room and activate this virus," I say anxiously. If we have the means to take them down without a battle, that is even better!

"Tell us about the factionless first," Harrison says.

He has been quiet for so long that I almost forgot he was here.

"We moved the factionless and the Abnegation refugees that were staying with them back to Abnegation," Zeke begins.

"You did what?" Harrison asks. "Why did you do that?"

"Did you want them to see the video or not?" Zeke asks incredulously. "They didn't have access to any public broadcasts in the factionless sector. If we wanted them to see the video, we had to get them to Abnegation in order to do it. Once we found out that there were Abnegation refugees there, we decided it would be best to move them there so that they could see the video. We moved them under the premise of comfort for the refugees. It worked."

"Okay, so what was their reaction to the video?" Tori asks.

"Their reaction was much like the Dauntless. Confusion, questions, frightened people in the streets. We talked to them. I gave pretty much the same speech that I gave to the Dauntless after they saw the video. They have agreed to help us if it comes to a fight. Their leader, Evelyn Johnson and one of her compatriots will be here tomorrow to meet with all of the leaders to discuss terms of their assistance," I explain. "We will need to sit down and iron out exactly what we are ready to offer and what we are going to do with the factionless before their arrival."

"Well it sounds like things are under some kind of control, for now," Harrison says. "Now what about this virus?"

"We will have to go to the control room in order to discuss that further. We will need to access all of the information on the computer system and make sure it is safe before we can activate the virus. Hopefully once the virus is activated, it will trickle down and affect all of the computers in Erudite, including Jeanine's," Will explains.

"Thank you all for everything you have done. You all can go eat and relax, you've earned it!" Tori says. "Well everyone except for Will, Zeke, Tobias, Harrison, and me anyway."

I turn to Tris, "Why don't you and Uriah go get something to eat and I'll see you later at the apartment."

She nods and kisses me. Uriah puts his arm around her shoulders, "Come on Tris, if you eat all of your cake we will go to the training room and I'll teach you some more moves like that flip move."

Her eyes light up, "Really? Okay, let's go!" She takes Uriah's hand and drags him from the room.

I laugh to myself. She really does belong here. She is so much happier learning to fight than she ever was volunteering. The only time she was even remotely this happy was when we were in the sorting center and she was doing manual labor.

The rest of us go to the control room where Will shows us the files from Erudite with all of their medical advances and every other type of research that they have been doing. There are thousands of files that we will be saving.

"We also saved everything to an external hard drive that I have here," Will says. He brings out an external hard drive and sets it on the computer desk. "We wanted to make sure we didn't lose any information," he adds.

"Now show us whatever will shut down the Erudite computers," Tori says.

Will slides in front of the computer monitor and starts typing. "I got the idea from Tobias' backdoor into all of the factions' computers. We created a backdoor into Erudite's computers." A few more keystrokes and he hits the send button. A screen pops up that shows that he is uploading information, when the bar reaches one hundred percent, a skull and crossbones pops on the screen. "That should do it. Hopefully that will shutdown all of Erudite's computer systems before anyone notices and stops it. It is set to activate in the background of their system. By the time someone notices it, it will be too late to stop it."

"How will we know if it works?" Harrison asks.

"Well, that is the problem. I couldn't risk Cara staying to monitor it and getting caught, so I'm not sure. She said she could probably check for Amity and let me know, but she isn't positive that she will have access from Amity."

"Well, we will just have to hope for the best," I say. "I have a feeling we will find out rather quickly if Erudite's computers are down."

"So Four, about the factionless…" Tori says.

"They are willing to fight, but I don't trust them. I believe that Evelyn will do just about anything to completely overthrow the factions. They definitely have the numbers in their favor, but they don't have the kind of weapons that we have. I think we will need to limit the number and kinds of weapons we allow them to have. We have to make sure they can't overthrow us with our own weapons," I say.

"If we don't trust them that much, maybe we shouldn't get their help," Will says.

"We don't have much of a choice," Zeke says. "We are outmanned by the Erudite and Dauntless traitors. And if they somehow activate Candor's simulations, we are screwed."

"Next question, are we going to attack or are we going to wait and go on defense?" Harrison asks. "Offense is probably our best bet."

"Once we have spoken with the factionless, we will decide how to proceed," Tori says. "For now, Harrison you should monitor the control room and allow these guys to get some rest. I think they have earned some rest," Tori says.

Harrison nods and turns to the monitors. The rest of us retire to the cafeteria for some food. And I want to find Tris.

XXX

After we've eaten, Will goes to find Christina and Zeke and I go to find Tris and Uriah. We find them in the training room, where they said they would be. They are sparring in the middle of the room. It seems that Uriah has taught Tris some more moves and she is doing quite well for herself.

"I think I'd like a turn," I say. I always like fighting Tris. I won't hit her too hard, but I like to know what she is capable of.

"Oh, thank goodness. She is exhausting! She doesn't ever want to stop. She has more damn energy than anyone I've ever seen," Uriah complains.

He leaves the ring and I enter. We start to circle each other, hands ready to defend or attack. Last time she took off her shirt to distract me, this time I won't be distracted. We continue to circle each other sizing each other up. She has a look of determination on her face.

I decide to attack first. She leaps to the side and kicks me in the back. I stumble but quickly regain my balance. Tris quickly rushes me. I drop down and kick her legs out from under her and bring her down. She is fast though and he manages to kick me in the face. I'm is dazed but still manage to stand and attack again. She rolls and kicks my legs causing me stumble. She flips herself up and brings her arm under my armpit and uses my falling momentum to flip me onto my back. I roll myself up and rush at her but she sidesteps and plants an elbow to the small of my back knocking me to my knees. She gets too close to me and I grab her by the legs and bring her down to the ground. She tries to knock me down with her, but my size is too much for her and I am able to easily straddle her and hold her down.

"Nice fight, how about we call this one a truce?" I ask.

She takes advantage of my being distracted by her under me and manages to pull her knees into my chest and flip me onto my back. Now she straddles me.

"Now we can call a truce!" she smiles. I lean up and kiss her. She stands taking my hand to pull me up.

"Very nice job Tris!" Uriah says.

"Thanks for teaching me!" Tris smiles at him.

"Well, if we are done here, I think we should all get some rest!" Zeke says.

We all agree and head off to our apartments.

As soon as we are in our room and finally laying down for bed, someone knocks on the door.


	45. Chapter 45

I own nothing!

Chapter 45

Tris

We lay down and are ready to settle in for bed when there is a loud knock on the door. Tobias gets up and goes to see who it is.

"Tobias, we need you in the control room now!" I hear the voice say.

"All right, I'll be there in just a minute. Let me get some shoes."

He walks back into the bedroom, "I've gotta go to the control room. Harrison needs me."

"Who was at the door?" I ask.

"Oh that was Will." He leans in and kisses me. "Don't wait up. I'll see you in the morning. I love you."

"I love you too."

He leaves the room and soon I'm asleep.

XXX

I waken to sounds of shouting and chaos outside of our apartment. I quickly get up and get dressed. I rush out of the room to see what is happening. Dauntless are running around, armed. They look like they are preparing for battle. I grab a random person as they run past me.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"Dauntless traitors have been spotted heading this way," he says before running toward the Pit.

I run for the control room to find Tobias. I'm not sure what I should do.

On the way I run into Uriah.

"Tris, you need to be armed and you need a bullet proof vest." He seizes my arm and starts dragging me toward the armory.

"Where is Tobias?" I ask.

"Four and Zeke have gone to Abnegation to get the factionless and bring them back here armed. He made me promise to make sure you were properly protected until he gets back."

"What about Marlene? Shouldn't you be protecting her?" I ask.

"She is fine. She is already armed and is with Harrison's family helping to protect them. Lynn and Shauna are with their family protecting them. We don't want them exposed in case there are Erudite watching out for people who are wired for the simulation. We made sure to arm them with nonlethal weapons and they are surrounded by various Dauntless families so they can be protected just in case. Now let's get you armed."

We rush off to the armory where Uriah gets me two bullet proof vests, a rifle, two handguns, and a large knife. Apparently all of the Dauntless are armed with the most lethal weapons leaving the other weapons for the factionless.

"Now whatever you do, do not hand any of your weapons over to anyone. Got it?" he asks.

"I understand," I say.

We run to the glass ceiling and out toward the trains. The train arrives and people start jumping off. At first I think they are Dauntless traitors, but one of the silhouettes is familiar.

Tobias comes running up leading the factionless to the building. Just inside are the arms that the Dauntless leaders have decided to allow the factionless to have. They are lethal weapons, but they all have a limited amount of ammunition and only the Dauntless leaders have the ammunition to give to them once they run out. They have instructed all of the Dauntless to keep their weapons and not hand any weapons over to anyone under any circumstances.

I knew they didn't trust the factionless, I just didn't understand the extent of that distrust.

The factionless don't seem to notice the difference in weapons between them and us. I guess it is good that it is dark out.

All of the sudden a shot rings out through the night.

The Dauntless traitors come rushing out of the shadows armed and aiming their guns right at us.

"There is no winning here," one of the Dauntless traitors says. "Surrender now and we won't kill you all."

We wait until it seems that most of them are in range and exposed before someone on our side shouts, "Now!"

The factionless come out of the shadows and we all surround the Dauntless traitors. They all look shocked to see the factionless and Dauntless together. They must not have been expecting us to team up with them. Someone else from our side shouts, "Fire!" We open fire on the traitors. After about three minutes of nonstop gunfire, we stop. All of the Dauntless traitors are on the ground either dead or dying.

There is a whoop from one of the Dauntless and everyone joins in. This is a small victory, we know there are more Dauntless traitors but for now, we seem to have won this battle.

"That was too easy," Uriah says worried. "Something isn't right here."

As if on cue, more soldiers come out of the shadows and attempt to surround us. They still weren't expecting the factionless to team up with us, so we still have that element of surprise. But soon we are engaged in hand to hand combat with the Dauntless traitors.

Two men race toward me and attack, but I quickly whip out my hand guns and fire at each of the men, stopping them dead in their tracks. I turn to see someone attacking Uriah. I fire and hit the guy in the side. He falls to the ground and Uriah quickly disposes of him.

There are fights and gunfire everywhere we turn. Someone fires at me and I'm hit right in the bullet proof vest. The shot knocks me to the ground but I quickly recover from the shock and engage with the enemy again. Then next to me I see someone fall, I look and it is Uriah. He is shot in the leg and is bleeding badly.

"Uriah! We gotta get you out of here!" I yell.

"No, I'm fine," he argues.

He tries to stand, but can't put any weight on his leg. I take hold of his arm and wrap it around my shoulders. I lift him so he is standing and make him lean on me so I can get him out of harm's way.

As we walk toward the glass building, someone comes up from behind and knocks us to the ground. Uriah looks and scowls. It is the guy that Tobias shot in the arm during the simulation attack, Peter.

"Peter you traitor!" Uriah says. He lies on the ground and tried to get up so he can fight Peter, but it's no use. He is still bleeding and his leg is too weak. I find that I have expelled all of the ammunition that I had on me. All I have left is the knife hidden under the waist band of my pants.

Peter stands and smirks at me, "Well, this is going to be easier than I thought. I'll kill the stiff while you watch, then I'll take care of you." He says this looking at Uriah.

Peter approaches me rather clumsily and I easily sidestep and kick his legs out from underneath him. He quickly gets up and looks at me, shocked. I watch him intently, he is big and strong and I don't really see any immediate weaknesses, but he underestimates me and I'm faster than him. I might be able to gain the upper hand and pull the knife on him.

He moves toward me and throws his weight into a punch. As he shifts his body weight, I anticipate his move and duck and drive my fist into his stomach. I quickly move past him out of reach.

He looks at me with fury and throws a punch hit hitting me in the ribs. I stumble and try to catch my breath. He fires another blow at me, but I block it with my arm. He tries a kick at my side that I easily dodge and while he is off balance, I thrust my elbow up into his face. He moves just in time and I graze his chin. He shoves me and knocks me to the ground. He kicks me in the side and I feel like I'm going to pass out. I recover enough to roll and flip myself up to my feet. I know I have to keep on my feet or he will kill me. I watch him for a moment and realize that his hands are a little high right now.

I aim an uppercut low, and catch him in the stomach at his belly button. While he is doubled over, I drive my knee into his groin causing him to fall to the ground in agony. I pull my foot back and kick as hard as I can in his head, knocking him out.

I stumble over to Uriah who is staring at me in shock. "I knew I taught you well, but I didn't realize that I taught you that well," he jokes. I smile.

We both focus our attention on the fight that is happening around us. Most of the Dauntless traitors are either dead or lying on the ground in agony. The fight is coming to an end. A holler is heard over the fighting, a Dauntless cry. The rest of the Dauntless join in. They come together and the traitors that can, run away into the night.

We won! We came out of this battle with what seems like minimal damage. I start to lift Uriah again, but find that I must have damage to my ribs because I can't support his weight.

Zeke and Tobias come running over. Zeke takes Uriah from me and easily lifts him and takes him inside to the infirmary. Tobias looks at me then to Peter lying unconscious on the ground. "Did you do that?" he asks.

I nod but then cringe. I think I may be more injured than I realized. He pulls me up and carries me into the infirmary. He places me on the bed next to Uriah.

"What happened out there?" he asks.

"Peter attacked us and Tris beat the crap out of him," Uriah says with pride. "I taught her well!"

"You should go get him before he comes to," I say.

He nods, "Come on Zeke, we do need to make sure that we collect the live ones for trial and dispose of the dead."

Zeke stands, "We will be back."

"We'll be fine, Zeke. Don't worry," Uriah says. "I have Tris to protect me if someone comes."

Zeke smiles. Tobias leans in and kisses me, "I'll be back soon."

After they leave the nurse comes in and checks Uriah and me.

They take Uriah to the operating room to remove the bullet from his leg and patch him up.

The nurse takes me back of x-rays to determine if I have any broken ribs. Luckily I don't, just bruised. They wrap me up and give me something to relax me so I can sleep. Just before I doze off, they bring Uriah back. He is still under sedation so he is sleeping, but he will be fine once he is healed.

I fall into my drug induced sleep.

**Thanks for all of the reviews. I appreciate knowing that people like my story! **


	46. Chapter 46

I own nothing!

Chapter 46

Tobias

Zeke and I go back outside, the battle is done. We luckily have no causalities. Several people are being taken into the infirmary, the Dauntless traitors that were captured or injured are being held on crimes against humanity charges, Peter included, but most of the Dauntless are fine to fight another day.

The factionless wander around seemingly unsure of what to do next. Zeke and I approach Evelyn. "We need to discuss what we are going to do next. Why don't you send the rest of your people back to the Abnegation sector so they can help protect the Abnegation? Bring one ally with you and come inside, you can eat in the cafeteria and we will meet once we have straightened out what is happening here," Zeke tells her.

She nods in agreement and goes to her people to send them home. She and Edward follow us into the compound.

"Brian and Michael, could you please show these people to the cafeteria?"

Brian and Michael walk over and gesture for them to follow. I call Brian over to Zeke and me, "Look, don't let them out of your sight and make sure both you and Mike are armed the entire time you are with them."

"No problem," Brian smiles.

"Thanks Brian!" Zeke says.

He nods and walks away.

"Well what now?" Zeke asks.

"I guess we go get Tori and Harrison. We need to discuss our next move," I say.

XXX

We meet Tori and Harrison in the conference room in the glass building.

"Well, it seems to me the time of being passive and waiting is done. We need to take on a more aggressive stance against the Erudite and Dauntless Traitors. How many of them were killed or are captured?" Tori asks.

"There are about fifty dead bodies out there and about one hundred captured and injured locked up. We need to have a quick public trial and eliminate them immediately," Zeke says.

"First we need to interrogate some of them though. I want to know if Will's virus worked or not. I think it is safe to assume that something happened based on their attack, but we need to be sure," I say.

"Do you really think any of them will be honest with us?" Harrison asks.

"No, I don't. I think we will gain more information from them by posing lots of questions to a lot of them. We will be able to amass the truth from their combined responses," I say.

"Okay, what about the factionless?" Tori asks.

"We have Brian and Mike watching Evelyn and Edward in the cafeteria," Zeke says. "We need to decide what kind of alliance we want with them. We wouldn't have come out of that last fight with no causalities without them."

"I agree, but I still don't trust them," I say. "They are all loose cannons."

"Why don't we focus on interrogating the prisoners? We can hold the factionless off for a while. We'll offer them an empty apartment that they can rest in for a while. We can schedule the meeting with them later on today," Tori says.

We all agree and exit the conference room toward the Pit.

Zeke runs to the cafeteria to offer the room to Evelyn and to tell Brian and Mike to guard door until we call for them for the meeting.

Next we find Will and Christian by the chasm. "Can you two accompany us to interrogate the prisoners?" Tori asks.

"Why me?" Christina asks confused.

"Because you were Candor and can spot a liar better than anyone I've ever seen," Tori says.

Christina beams with pride, "Okay, let's go!"

XXX

The first few traitors' interrogations were uneventful. They had no computer access to know if there were any problems with the computer systems in Dauntless. They did however confirm that the entire faction saw the video with Edith Prior and that the leaders of both factions were furious. Also that just after the video, some Erudite escaped to Amity.

"So good, we know they saw the video and it affected at least some of them to cause them to leave their faction," Harrison says. "Better than nothing."

The next traitor is brought it and it is Max, former Dauntless leader, "Hello Tori, Harrison, and Zeke. Good to see you again." He says this wincing; he has a gunshot to his shoulder and seems weak. "And who might you be?" he asks referring to me.

I begin to speak, but Zeke cuts me off, "This is Four, he is a new Dauntless."

"Oh really? And did we have another choosing ceremony that I didn't know about?"

"It is none of you business. You forfeited your right to know what is going on in this faction when you became a traitor," Zeke says firmly.

"Why am I here?" Max asks.

"We are attempting to determine why you attacked us unprovoked," Harrison asks.

"Ask blondie there," Max says gesturing to Will.

"What are you talking about," Will says innocently.

"You destroyed years of work with your little stunt," Max yells.

"What stunt?" Will asks again. He is good at playing innocent.

"Years of medical advances, educational advances, and agricultural advances were destroyed when you took out the computer systems in Erudite. That information can never be replaced."

We all look at him surprised. We weren't expecting him to be so forthcoming with this information. We thought he would at least lie or something.

"So Erudite's computer systems crashed?" I ask.

All of the sudden his demeanor completely changes, his eyes glaze over and he is now slouching in his chair. "We are just fine. The Erudite compound is still strong. Our intellectual superiority will prevail."

"That's not Max anymore," Christina says quietly. "Something happened."

"Where did Max go?" Tori asks.

"Max is sitting right in front of you silly woman. He is a puppet, just like the rest of you," says the voice through Max's voice. But it definitely isn't Max anymore.

"How are we puppets?" Zeke asks.

"You are puppets because you seem to think you will be able to defeat us. You will play right into our hands and you will all annihilate each other and we won't even have to lift a finger to help."

"What about the computer systems?" Will asks. "Max said they were damaged or something."

"Your little trick isn't enough to damage Erudite."

I pull Zeke toward me, "He is under a simulation, he is taking orders from someone, somewhere else."

He nods, "Max, you have been accused of crimes against humanity and of being a traitor to your faction. How do you plead?"

"Guilty," Max says. His eyes are back to normal and his posture is more rigid than it was while he is under the simulation. "They'll kill me if I go back anyway."

"You are hereby found guilty of your actions, and sentenced to death," Harrison says.

He pulls out three guns, by Dauntless law only one gun has a bullet in it, the other two have blanks. Tori, Harrison, and Zeke take their guns in their hands.

Three

Two

One

The all fire simultaneously and the bullet pierces Max in the center of his forehead. He slumps down and in his seat. Dauntless enter the room and collect the body for disposal.

The next prisoner to be brought in is Peter. He sits in the chair across from us where Max was just killed. He sits silently.

"Nice job Peter, how does it feel to get the crap beat out of you by a small Abnegation girl?" Zeke mocks.

I smirk at Peter's shocked look, "She's a stiff? What till I get my hands on her, she's dead."

"That won't be happening," I say.

"Oh, the big strong stiff boyfriend going to do something about it? I doubt it," he says

I clench my fists and get ready to stand but Zeke stops me.

"We would like to know about the computer systems in Erudite. Max told us that they were all damaged," Zeke says.

"I don't know what happened," he says.

"He's lying," Christina says.

"No, I'm not!" Peter says.

"He's lying again."

He sits and glares at Christina.

"Tell us about the computer systems," Zeke says again.

"If I talk, they will kill me," he says.

"If you don't talk we will kill you," Zeke says.

"Look, all I know is that almost every computer in the faction got some kind of virus that caused them all to crash. It also crashed their main frame that housed all of the information. Everything that Erudite has done over the past however many years is gone, deleted forever."

"Almost every computer?" Will asks.

"Yeah, apparently there were a couple computers that received the virus, but they were able to be saved. But those computers didn't house any of the information that was lost. They were private computers."

"Peter, you are accused of crimes against humanity. How do you plead?" Tori asks abruptly.

"Wait! What? You said if I answered your questions, you wouldn't kill me," Peter says anxiously.

"No, we said if you didn't answer our questions we would kill you," I respond.

"How do you plead?" Harrison asks.

"NO! But I didn't have a choice!"

"You didn't have a choice but to attack innocent people when you were never under a simulation? You didn't have a choice but to return to Erudite even after we helped you to escape during the simulation attack?" I ask.

"Not guilty, I plead not guilty!" he says in a rushed tone.

"You will be scheduled for a trial in front of the Dauntless in a week," Tori says.

He is taken back to the holding cells. We questions a couple more people but get no more information than we already have. All of Erudite's information is lost, at least that is what they believe and there is at least one computer that is still running which explains how Max was taken over for a while.

"Jeanine's computers will be the ones that Peter is referring to," Will says. "I don't know how we can get in there and infect them though."

"We may just have to attack," Zeke says.

"The viral attack on their computers was a great idea, but now seems to be the time for action," Harrison says.

"Now what about the factionless?" Tori asks.

"If we are going to attack, we will need their numbers," I say.

"How do we work with people that we don't trust?" Zeke asks.

"I'm not sure, maybe we need to meet with them and if they have demands and what they are," I say.

"I agree. Let's set the meeting with them for an hour from now," Tori says.

"No, we need more time. I need to go to the infirmary and check on Uriah. And Four needs to go see Tris," Zeke says.

"Okay, well it is one o'clock in the afternoon now. Let's meet with them after dinner at six o'clock. That will give us all time to do what we need to do and get some rest. None of us has slept in a while," Tori says.

Zeke and I make our way quickly to the infirmary. Uriah is lying on the bed sleeping The nurse told us that he had surgery to remove the bullet and to fix the damage the bullet caused a couple hours ago. He should be coming out of sedation soon.

Tris is on the bed next to Uriah, sleeping also. We were told that her ribs are badly bruised, but she has no other damage. She will be fine and can go home when she wakes up.

I walk over to her and kiss her on her forehead, "Hey beautiful."

She opens her eyes and smiles. "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is great. How are you feeling? Ready to go home?"

"Please take me home! How's Uriah?"

"He's fine," Zeke says. "He should wake up soon."

I pick Tris up out of the bed and help her to walk toward the door. We tell Zeke that we will see him at dinner and leave the infirmary.

We enter the room and I pick Tris up again and lay her in the bed.

She smiles, "Aren't you going to lay down with me?"

"Of course, I just want to get a shower first."

She nods, "Okay, I'm going to change then. The nurses had me shower in the infirmary before they bandaged my ribs."

"Okay, be right back."

I go into the shower thinking about how truly lucky I am. I have this beautiful girl whom I love and she loves me. We are safe with people that trust us, who befriended us without question. I have never had anyone I've ever loved before and I've never had friends and now I have both. I dress in athletic shorts and an undershirt and open the bathroom door.

I see Tris n one of my T-shirts. She is crawling into bed just as I open the door and I get a glimpse of her tiny grey shorts under my huge shirt.

She turns and looks when she hears the door creak, "I hope you don't mind, I don't really have any pajamas yet."

I walk over to her and kiss her, "No I don't mind. You look adorable in my shirt."

We crawl into bed and our kisses quickly become passionate.


	47. Chapter 47

I own nothing!

Chapter 47

Tris

Tobias comes out of the bathroom just as I'm climbing into the bed. He has on some shorts and an undershirt. It is tight and shows off all of his muscles.

I turn to him, I have on one of his shirts to sleep in, "I hope you don't mind, I don't really have any pajamas yet."

He walks over to me and kisses me, "No I don't mind. You look adorable in my shirt."

We lie down in the bed together and begin to kiss. Our kisses quickly become fervent and somewhat desperate. It has been quite some time since we were able to be together alone.

Soon his hands find the small of my back under the shirt and his touch sends electricity throughout my entire body. I love the way his hands feel on my body.

I run my hands up his muscular arms and wrap them around his neck, pulling him closer to me. His hands trace my spine making my shirt rise revealing my bare stomach. I know I should stop him, and I want to stop him. But I don't. I want to keep going.

I struggle with this internal argument as things get even more heated. Without even realizing what I did, I brought my leg up and wrapped it around his waist and used it to pull him ever closer to me. He takes one of his hands and glides it back down my spine across my butt and down my thigh, pulling my thigh even higher on his body. He runs his hand down my smooth leg and back up again. He traces kisses across my jaw and down my neck to my shoulder. He kisses my new raven tattoos then moves back toward my mouth. He presses his lips firmly to my mouth.

The kissing and rubbing continues until I feel like I am going to burst. I want to be with him so badly, but I'm still terrified of the idea. I don't know what I want, but apparently Tobias knows for me. He slowly pulls away from the kiss and looks at me. He kisses my cheek.

"We should probably get some sleep if we are going to be able to function later," he says.

"I love you so much, Tobias."

"I love you too Beatrice."

I look at him and smile, no one calls me Beatrice anymore.

He lays down on his back and I lay with my head on his chest and my arm across his body. His arms are wrapped around me. Soon we both sleep.

XXX

I wake before him a few hours later and just lie there and look at his sleeping face. He looks so much younger when he sleeps, like the eighteen year old boy that he is. Not the man life has forced him to be. He is so handsome and I can't believe that a guy like this would even pay attention to me let alone love me.

Then I wonder when I will be ready to give myself to him fully. I know I love him, but I don't know what is holding me back. I know that I have no reason to be afraid of being intimate with him. He would never force me to do anything that I didn't want to do. He never pushes; he never makes me feel bad or uncomfortable. He only makes me feel loved.

After the loss of my parents I wasn't sure I'd ever really be able to open up completely to him. But I have. I don't feel the need to hide anything from him. He understands me and isn't afraid of my ability or strength, he is proud of it.

I have been staring at him for a while now and he must feel it because he begins to stir. I shift and he opens his eyes and smiles. He kisses me on my forehead, "Hello Beautiful. What time is it?"

"It's almost four-thirty. I was just thinking that we could go see Uriah before dinner."

"Sure, we need to get up though and I don't want to move yet. I'm comfortable."

"Yeah, but you have a meeting with the factionless and I need to go get some clothes and pajamas so I don't keep stealing your clothes."

"But I like you in my clothes," he says kissing me on my cheek.

"Tobias," I giggle.

"Okay… Fine. We'll go to dinner," he pouts.

He kisses me one last time and pulls his arm out from under me and gets up. He gathers his clothes and goes into the bathroom to change. While he is changing, I change also. I put on a shirt that Christina and Marlene made me buy that shows my shoulders and collarbones and is extremely formfitting. I find a pair of tight holey dark blue jeans and my black boots. I brush my hair and pull it into a ponytail. When Tobias emerges from the bathroom, I'm completely dressed and ready for dinner.

He looks at me and pulls me into his arms. "I don't think I want to share how beautiful you are with anyone else." And he places his lips firmly to mine again.

"Well, we can't stay here all day unfortunately," I say.

"Someday, when this is all over and we can have a normal life that is exactly what we are going to do. Stay in bed all day. We will just bring a bunch of food from the cafeteria here so we don't have to go anywhere." He kisses me again, takes my hand and we rush off to the infirmary to check on Uriah.

We enter the infirmary to Zeke arguing with the doctor.

"Keep him here, he is safer here," Zeke yells.

"I'm sorry, he is healed enough to leave. Your brother is fine," the doctor explains.

"Zeke, what's wrong," Tobias asks.

"Four, tell them that Uriah can't leave here yet. Tell them he needs to stay here; he was just shot hours ago."

"Why would you be releasing him now? He had to have surgery to have the bullet removed from his leg. He can't possibly be ready to go anywhere," Tobias says.

"The Erudite have created medicines that speed the healing process. Injuries that used to take weeks to heal are now only taking hours."

Zeke growls and walks away. He apparently has no more arguments. But then I think of something, "Can he walk on it yet? He was shot in the leg after all."

"Well, he has to have some assistance to stand and needs a cane to help him, but yes."

"I'm sorry doctor but I just don't think that sounds like he is ready to be released. He can't stand, he can't walk. He is weak. Sounds to me like he needs some physical therapy or something and you are just trying to shove him out of here. How do you expect him to get around the Dauntless compound if he can't walk. It's not like this place is conducive to people who can't walk."

The doctor stares at me obviously annoyed, "Fine, maybe he should stay for a while for therapy. I will make the arrangements."

The doctor walks away with a scowl on his face.

Zeke rushes over to me and wraps me in a huge hug. "Thank you Tris! I really appreciate it. Thank you!"

He hugs me for a long time. Finally Tobias clears his throat, "Dude, how about letting her breathe. You are going to suffocate her."

Zeke backs off blushing, "Sorry Tris. I've just been so worried about him."

I take Zeke's hand and smile, "No problem, glad I could help."

We walk into Uriah's room. He is laying there restless. "Can I leave now?" he asks.

"No," I say. "The doctor says you need some physical therapy to get stronger before you can leave."

He scowls and looks at Zeke, "I won't be able to help with whatever happens next with the Erudite if I can't get out of here."

"You get stronger and I'm sure there will be plenty for you to do when you are better. For now, maybe we can see about you staying with Marlene and Harrison's family. I'm sure he would be grateful to know that you are there protecting them while he can't be,  
Zeke suggests.

Uriah nods in agreement. He knows he is of no use if he can't walk. The best thing for him to do is to get better. We all say goodbye and head to the cafeteria together. We will eat dinner and then Tobias, Zeke, and the other leaders will meet with Evelyn and Edward.

We sit with all of our friends and begin eating. I look at all of the food and can't help but wonder how I ever lived on such bland and boring food my whole life. Or how I lived without Dauntless cake.

Christina looks at me, "Those clothes are amazing on you! I'm so glad I made you buy that shirt, especially since you got that tattoo."

The shirt shows off my ravens perfectly.

When we are close to being done, Susan and Felicia come over and sit with us. Brian and Mike have been taking shifts with others to guard the prisoners. They have both really stepped up to being Dauntless.

Christina looks at Felicia and Susan. "Okay ladies, the guys have things to do. We are all going shopping."

Marlene squeals with excitement. "Make overs!"

Tobias and the leaders stand to leave. He leans in and kisses me deeply and whispers "Don't get any pajamas, I like when you wear my shirts for bed." He smirks and kisses me on the cheek. I blush and he stands and walks toward the door with Tori and Harrison. Zeke is just behind them, he turns and calls, "Will, aren't you coming?"

"I didn't know I was supposed to," Will replies.

"You brought down the Erudite's computers, I think you are part of this!"

He stands and kisses Christina on the cheek and walks away.

"Makeover time!" Marlene says excitedly.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up. There is something that I want to do," I tell them.

"Meet us in the makeup store later. That is where your makeover will be happening. And since you won't be there, if I find something that I think will be fabulous on you, I'm buying it and you have to wear it," Christina tells me.

I nod and leave the room. I've made a decision, I want another tattoo.

I walk in and Bud is sitting there alone. I guess since Tori has the meeting, he doesn't have any help.

"Hey Tris, what's up?"

"Hey Bud, I want another tattoo."

"What can I get you?" he asks.

"Well I actually want two. I want the Dauntless symbol on my shoulder blade and I want a white dove here," I point to my collarbone right below my ravens, closest to my heart.

"Okay, sounds good." He gets started on the dove. As he works he talks to me, "Did you know that the symbolism of the Dove is that of patience and tenderness? Their voice along with the soft hue of their bodies, and the tender glow of their eyes all supposedly lead to thoughts of softness, tenderness and are symbols of love."

"Bud, how do you know all of this stuff?" I ask.

"I like to understand the tattoos that people choose. Like I told you before, ravens are a symbol of transformation. For you I believe that is the transformation between life and death for your parents but also your transformation from what was expected of you in Abnegation to who you are and what you want in Dauntless. And I'm assuming the dove is a symbol of your love for Four."

He finishes the dove and moves to my shoulder blade and begins on the Dauntless symbol.

"What about the Dauntless symbol?"

"Well, since you are asking for the Dauntless symbol and not the Abnegation symbol first, I would say that you are connecting yourself to the Dauntless more than the Abnegation."

"Can we do the Abnegation too? Just below the Dauntless one?"

He laughs, "Sure. You know, you remind me of someone. A girl I once knew a long time ago."

"Who was that?" I ask.

"Your mother, Natalie. She was a wonderful girl. We were friends when we were kids, before she transferred. I never understood why she ever transferred to Abnegation, she was one of the most talented Dauntless I ever knew. She was deadly accurate with a gun and knives and she could fight the strongest guys and find a way to win."

I look at him in shock, "You… You knew my mother? Could you tell me about her?"

"Sure, she was one of my best friends. You are actually a lot like her. There wasn't much she couldn't do when she set her mind to it. It was more than the physical aspects of Dauntless life, she was kind and loving also. She was friends with everyone."

"Did you know why she left here?"

"Actually I do. She trusted me and right after the aptitude tests she came to me crying. Her test was inconclusive, which I'm assuming you know what that means."

I nod and he continues, "Her mother told her to get out of Dauntless so she could be safe. Everyone knew that strange accidents happened to people who were thought to be Divergent. He mother wanted her to be safe, so she told her to leave here. I don't think she actually wanted to leave Dauntless, but she did and I never saw her again. She belonged here and despite what her mother told her, I never could get why she left," he says. I feel him move down my shoulder blade with the needle. "When I saw you though I knew immediately you were her daughter. You have the same fire and spirit that she did. What made you stay in Abnegation?"

"My brother transferred to Erudite, I just couldn't leave my parents. There was also something else," I say.

"Four?" he asks.

"Yeah, kind of. I knew I liked him, but I really hadn't talked to him yet. Is it crazy that I stayed in a faction for a guy that I didn't even know?"

"Kind of, but that is your Dauntless side shining through. Braving something that you don't want for something that you do want."

He pauses and I feel the cool of the healing cream on my shoulder, "That's it, all done. Want to see in the mirror before I cover them?"

I walk to the mirror. The dove looks amazing next to the ravens. They all have wings spread like they are in flight, like the dove is leading the ravens to my heart. It is beautiful. I turn with a mirror in my hand so I can see my shoulder. The Dauntless symbol is on the top of my shoulder blade. It is about three inches in diameter. The flames look so realistic, like they should engulf my entire body in flames. Just under that is the Abnegation symbol with its clasped hands. It is about two inches in diameter and a perfect representation of my past.

I turn to Bud and hug him, "Thank you so much, they are beautiful!"

He smiles and covers them with more healing ointment and covers them with the bandages.

I leave the tattoo parlor happy. I learned more about my mother in the past hour than I ever knew. She was Dauntless, more importantly, she was Divergent.

**Am I taking too long to finish this story or are you all still along for the ride? I feel like it is still going to be a while before it is concluded, but if the story is losing something or getting boring I want to know. **


	48. Chapter 48

I own nothing!

Chapter 48

Tobias

We meet with Evelyn and Edward in the conference room in the glass building. Tori sits at the head of the table with Zeke and Harrison on either side of her. Will sits next to Harrison and I next to Zeke. Evelyn sits across from us with Edward next to her.

"We're here to discuss our next moves and if the factionless are willing to help up take out the Erudite compound once and for all," Tori begins.

"First let me say that we are willing to help with this endeavor, however we want to know what is in it for us? For so long we have been considered outcasts and treated as such by all of the other factions. We are done with being treated like scum, we want an equal part in the city among the factions," Evelyn says.

"Every faction has specific jobs that they are responsible for seeing to, we could rearrange some of those jobs allowing the factionless to have real jobs around the city. Like maybe the Abnegation could let you help with the sorting of goods for other factions or you could help the Amity with harvesting or even take over some guarding jobs at the fence from the Dauntless. Then of course there are building and demolition crews that are needed within the city."

"And what about housing?" Evelyn asks.

"Well, honestly every faction has taken over some building and adapted it for their own use. There is no reason that you couldn't take over some of the buildings in the middle of the city and adapt them for your use. Take over some buildings and turn them into apartments for the factionless. If they are working for the good of the city, then they will be entitled to the same goods and services that the rest of us are. But no one will be handed things for nothing," I say.

Tori and Harrison nod in agreement.

"The factionless will have to become productive members of our society in order to be able to participate fully in our society," Harrison says.

"What about the Erudite and their insane scientific experiments? That can't be allowed to continue," Edward complains.

"The Erudite computers have already been destroyed by a computer virus that crashed them all. They don't have access to their insane experiments any longer," Will explains.

"Okay, so we are all in agreement that the factionless will help us to overthrow Jeanine and the Erudite and Dauntless traitors. They will become productive members of our society and in exchange they will have the same rights and privileges as the rest of us," Tori says.

Evelyn and Edward agree to these terms.

"You are welcome to either continue to stay here in the apartment that we gave you or return to the rest of the factionless. But if the ladder is your decision, we will need you to return tomorrow by noon so we can discuss what our plans are going to be. Otherwise we will start planning our next moves without you," Harrison says.

"We will be staying for the night," Evelyn says.

"Okay, well we will gather again tomorrow after lunch," Zeke says. He stands and the rest of us follow. We begin to leave the room when Evelyn calls me back.

"Tobias, can I talk to you?"

I stop and look at her. "What?" I ask sharply.

"What are you doing here, playing house with that little Abnegation girl, pretending to be a Dauntless leader?"

"I'm not playing anything with Tris. And I was asked to represent the Abnegation in the Dauntless government. The Dauntless trust my judgment and I trust them. We are trying to stop a tyrant from taking over and consuming all of the factions for her personal benefit. What are you doing here?"

"You will choose that girl and this faction over your mother?"

"Yeah, because you were such a great mother," I say sarcastically. "You got beat and you escaped. You didn't bother to take me with you. You didn't bother to make sure I was okay, ever. I suffered at that man's hands for over half of my life. Even after I left, he still found ways to hit me. Not only was it the physical abuse, but the psychological abuse also. He convinced me that I was nothing, that I would never be anything. He made me believe that no one would ever want to be my friend or would love me. For the first time in my life I have friends, people who believe that I am strong and capable. I have a woman who loves me with all of her heart and has taught me what love is. Love is not abusive, it is not leaving, it does not judge, or presume to know what is best for someone. So don't presume to know what is best for me when you don't know me."

Tears stream down her cheeks, "Tobias, I'm your mother. I love you."

"No, you don't. And don't call me Tobias, my name here is Four."

I turn and walk out. I have nothing more to say to this woman.

XXX

I return to the apartment, not expecting Tris to be home from her shopping trip with her friends.

I walk into the apartment and head into the bedroom where Tris stands in front of a mirror. She is scrutinizing her appearance in the mirror. She has on a very tight and revealing dress, she looks fantastic. I see a bandage on her back shoulder and one right below her ravens.

I walk up behind her and whisper, "You are gorgeous, do you know that?"

She smiles, "I don't know. This is just a little too revealing for me I think."

I touch the bandage on her back, "Did you get hurt?"

"No I got a couple new tattoos today. I just haven't uncovered them yet."

"Can I see them?" I ask.

She nods and I carefully peal the bandage off of her shoulder blade. The Dauntless seal is on top and the Abnegation seal is just under it. I smile; we think an awful lot alike. Then I turn her around and peal the bandage off on her collarbone. There is a white dove in front of the ravens.

"They are great. I love the dove, why did you get that one?"

She blushes, "The dove is a symbol of love and devotion. It symbolized my love for you."

I'm shocked; she got a tattoo that represents me close to her heart. The other three birds represent her family, now I am part of that.

I pull her into me and kiss her passionately, "I love it, Tris. And I love you."

"I know I'm not ready for certain aspects of our relationship. But I wanted you to know that I am completely devoted to you and I'm yours forever if you want me."

I kiss her again, trying to pour all of the passion and emotion I can into that kiss.

"I want you to be mine, forever," I whisper.

She pulls away and smiles, "I need to change out of this dress, it's time for bed anyhow."

When we are both changed, we crawl into bed. She is wearing one of my shirts again. It is so big that it hangs off of her shoulder revealing her tattoos, revealing the dove. I pull her close to me and wrap my arms protectively around her and we both fall asleep.

XXX

Then next morning I wake up before Tris and sneak out of the room. Last night I made a decision. I'm going to propose to her. I want her to know how much I love her and how serious I am about wanting to be with her forever.

I make it to the jewelry store just as it opens and begin looking at rings. The jeweler helps me by asking me questions about Tris and showing me different styles of rings.

I don't think she would like anything that is too flashy; the Abnegation part of her would not like that kind of attention.

Then I see it. A small ring with a single small diamond in the center with smaller diamonds going around the band. It is beautiful but simple.

The jeweler places it in a box for me, then deducts the points from my account.

I rush back to our room and hope she hasn't woken up yet. I decide to grab breakfast for us too so we won't have to leave the bedroom quite yet.

I open the door and she is still sleeping, so I crawl back into bed gently so she won't know I was missing. Then I stir in the bed enough to wake her. She rolls over and looks at me and smiles.

"Good morning," she says.

"Good morning," I say kissing her on her head.

She stretches and sits up. She heads to the bathroom and I can hear her brushing so I hurry into the kitchen and grab the muffins, juice, and eggs that I brought from the cafeteria. I set them down on the bed, and sit the box with the ring in the middle of her plate.

She comes back in to the room and looks at the food spread out on the bed.

"What's this?" she asks with a smile.

"I thought I'd surprise you with breakfast in bed today. Thought we could spend the morning alone together. We don't get much time alone."

"That sounds wonderful," she says climbing back into bed. She sits down next to me and picks up her muffin. Then she sees the box sitting there.

"What's this?" she asks looking at the box then to me.

"I don't know, you should probably open it," I say with a smirk.

She places the muffin on the plate and opens the box. She looks at me with wide eyes and a huge smile. I stand and walk around the bed and kneel next to her.

"Tris, I love you so much. I can't imagine my life without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you be willing to be my wife?"

Tears stream down her face. "Yes, I'd love to be your wife," she says through her sobs.

I pull the ring out of the box and place it on her finger. She throws herself on me and we both land on the floor with her lying on top of me. She leans in and kisses me deeply.

"Tobias, I love you!" she says and kisses me again.

She sits up straddling me and I lean up so I am sitting with her on my lap. "We should eat before our food get cold," I say.

She nods and stands. I stand with her and we both crawl back into bed and start eating our food.

"So when do you want to get married?" I ask through bites of egg.

"I don't know. Do you want to wait a while?" she asks.

"No, I don't. I want to be your husband as soon as possible," I say. I have never been so sure of anything in my life.

She smiles, "Maybe we should wait until after your meeting with the leaders before we make any definite plans."

I hate to admit it, but she is probably right. With this war brewing, now wouldn't be the best time for a wedding.

After we are finished eating and I remove the plates from the bed. We lie together, holding each other, talking and kissing until it is time for lunch.

**Not completely happy with this one, but here it is.**


	49. Chapter 49

I own nothing!

Chapter 49

Tris

I'm getting married. I can't believe that I'm getting married. The euphoria is followed by a suddenly a wave of grief at the realization that my parents are gone and can't be part of my happiness. I have no idea where Caleb is or even if he is still alive. I try to push the sadness away. My parents were happy about me being with Tobias and my father gave his blessing. He called Tobias family. He had already considered Tobias to be his family. That thought brings my spirits up. They will be with me in spirit, I know they will.

These feelings flash by one after another as we lie in bed and talk about everything. When it is ten-thirty in the morning, I decide that I need to get up and get a shower. I move over to the clothes that Christina and Marlene bought on their shopping spree yesterday and find a shirt that will show off all of my tattoos. I love the beautiful art work that I have on my skin and want to show it off for everyone. I also grab jeans and take everything into the bathroom for me to change into after my shower.

I emerge from the bathroom and Tobias is waiting patiently so he can get in there next. He sees me and smiles, "I love the clothes that Christina buys for you."

"You only like them because they are tight," I smirk at him.

"Um… Yeah well can you blame me?" he says grabbing me by my waist and pulling me to him.

He kisses me and goes into the bathroom while I finish getting ready. I dry my hair and pull it into a ponytail. Then I apply the makeup that Christina made me get yesterday. I do it exactly the way she taught me. I look and see that my eyes aren't as dull as they usually are. They are much bolder.

I sit on the bed and wait for him to come out. When he does he looks at me, his eyes get bigger and he smiles but doesn't say a word.

Once we are ready, we head out the door for lunch. I wish we could have just stayed in bed for the rest of the day. But the war is still looming and we have things to do.

XXX

"Oh my goodness, Tris you look gorgeous!" Christina says. "I'm going to do all of your shopping from now on!"

Zeke looks at me then at Tobias, "Dude, I really do think you are going to have to do something, because if she keeps walking around like that…" his voice trails off.

I lift my hand and show off the beautiful ring that marks me as taken.

"Is that what I think it is?" Marlene asks.

"Tris, are you and Four engaged?" Susan asks.

I nod happily. Christina grabs my hand and inspects the ring. "This is gorgeous. Four you have really good taste."

Tori, Evelyn, Edward, and Harrison enter the cafeteria as everyone starts saying their congratulations.

"Who are we congratulating and what for?" Tori asks.

"Four proposed to Tris this morning," Marlene says.

Tori grab my hand and looks at the ring. "This is beautiful. Congratulations you two," she says smiling.

Harrison and Edward chime in with congratulations also. Evelyn just glares between Tobias and me.

"Tobias, I can't believe you," she starts but he cuts her off.

"That is enough! This has nothing to do with you. If you say another word I will personally throw you in the chasm," he growls at her.

He looks angrily at Evelyn and I can't help but wonder what would have happened to him if she had chosen to stay in Abnegation or if she would have taken him with her when she left. I know it upsets him that she did that to him but I can't help but selfishly want to thank her. If she had taken him, I may never have met him.

"Well, it's nice to see we are all getting along," Tori says sarcastically. "Anyway, it is time for our meeting."

Tobias and everyone else involved get up and get ready to leave. Harrison stops and looks at me, "Tris, we would appreciate it if you would accompany us for this meeting."

"Okay," I say and shrug my shoulders. I'm not sure why they would want me there, but I'd rather be with Tobias anyway.

XXX

We all sit around the conference table in silence. I sit next to Tobias and he takes my hand under the table. He plays with the ring on my finger and smirks at me before giving his attention back to Evelyn and Edward who are sitting right across from us.

"We are here to discuss our plans for eliminating Erudite's threat on our lives. We need to discuss how to accomplish that," Tori says.

"Why don't we just crash in there and take them out?" Zeke says. Normal Dauntless answer, offense without thought of the consequences.

"We can't just go in there guns blazing, we have to have a plan," Tobias says.

They all start talking at the same time. Soon the noise level rises to the point of yelling. I sit and take it all in. How would I handle this situation if I were in charge?

I look to Tobias and he stands and raises his deep voice above the others to get their attention.

"Arguing over nothing is not going to accomplish anything," he says quietly but loud enough to get everyone's attention.

Everyone sits back down. They all look like they are silently fuming.

"We have to launch an attack from the inside if we want any chance of defeating Jeanine," I say. "Will was successful because he got in undetected."

"I don't know if that is possible again. My sister was in there, that is why I was able to get away with so much," Will says.

"Now wait a minute. No one says that we have to be quite as sneaky, with this attack. We could probably pose as Dauntless traitors. Saying we somehow escaped the Dauntless prison," Zeke says.

"I don't know if that would work," Tobias says. "How many of the regular Dauntless that are there actually have access to Jeanine?"

He turns to Will, "Do you know where Jeanine's office or her computers are?"

"I know where her office is, but there isn't anything special in there. My sister told me that there is a secret lab behind her office and that is where she keeps her personal computer with all of her experiments."

"I think I know how to get close to her, but you aren't going to like it," I say looking directly at Tobias.

"How?" Evelyn asks.

"One of the Divergent is going to have to turn themselves into her. She wants Divergent to study and test, right? If one of us turns ourselves in, she will have what she wants and it might lower her guard a bit for the ones that are posed as Dauntless traitors."

"No. No way Tris. There is no way that I'm going to let you do that. I'll do it myself," Tobias says.

"You can't, you need to be here to get me out. It has to be me."

"There has to be another way," Tori says.

"We could just storm the place," Edward says.

"We can't for all we know they could have triggered the simulation on the Candor. They could be helping to guard Erudite," Harrison says.

"I hate to say this, but Tris' plan is most logical," Will says. "Most of the Dauntless traitors that are there now won't know me, Zeke, or Four. The ones that would have known us are dead or captured. We should be able to get in undetected. But Tris, it may take time to get to you. What if they experiment on you?"

"I'm quite sure they will, but I've been able to fight every simulation that they have tried on me so far. I can fight some more."

Tobias shakes his head and puts it in his hands. He says without looking up, "I don't like this. I'm not willing to risk your life for this. What if I can't get to you?"

I take one of his hands in mine. I place my other hand on his cheek and turn his head to look at me. He gazes into my eyes, "You will get me out. I'm counting on you to do this. We have a wedding to plan."

He shakes his head again and whispers, "No Tris. Not this way."

"Tobias, she's right. This is the only way to do this without a huge loss of life," Evelyn says. I'm not surprised she is agreeing with me. She wasn't happy about our relationship anyway. This is an easy way to get rid of me.

Tobias looks at her and scowls, "Of course you would say that. You have been trying to separate us since you came into the picture."

"I'm sorry for that. I never realized how strong and brave this girl is. I thought you deserved better than a weak little Abnegation girl, this girl is not who I thought she was," Evelyn says. "She is right. She will be fine because you won't let anything happen to her."

"What happens once Tris is in there?" Tori asks.

"We get as many Dauntless as we can to pose as traitors and the rest of the Dauntless and the factionless surround the building. Once we are in position they storm the building. But I'm going to have to go in first, a couple days before the actual attack. Tobias, Will, and Zeke can go in around the same time and attempt to infiltrate Jeanine's lab. Once they have discovered how to get in, then the rest of you attack. Hopefully this will be enough of a distraction to destroy Jeanine's computer and to save me."

Everyone nods. I know this plan is dangerous. But it is our best bet.

"It's agreed then," Tori says. She turns to Evelyn, "How long before you can rally the factionless and get them here so we can arm them properly?"

"I'll need two or three days. Edward and I can leave today. We can be back here with all of the factionless by Thursday or Friday."

"What about the Dauntless traitor uniforms?" Will asks.

"We have lots of them in the prison. We are set to have a couple trials and executions anyway. Let's get them done now," Zeke says.

"Okay Evelyn, be back here by Friday with the factionless. We will have our moles in place by that point," Harrison tells her.

She and Edward get up and leave the room.

"Tris, can you be ready to go for tomorrow?" Tori asks.

"Yes, I can."

Tobias refuses to look up, he keeps his head down. "If we are going to have a trial, I want Peter's to go first," he says. "He needs to be punished for what he did to Uriah and Tris."

"Fine, Zeke can you go get him now?" Harrison asks.

Zeke gets up without saying a word and leaves the room. He is going to be happy to see Peter punished for his actions.

XXX

We meet in the Pit where the Dauntless have their trials. This way the entire faction can bear witness if they choose.

Tori, Harrison, and Zeke stand in the middle of the Pit while Peter sits in a chair. His arms and legs tied down so he can't escape. They decided to bring a few more of the traitors up from the prison and have their trials now also. They all sit side by side tied to chairs.

"You are all accused of crimes against humanity. How do you plead?" Harrison asks.

"Not guilty," Peter says.

The rest of them agree and plead not guilty also.

"Do you have any words in your defense?" Tori asks.

"We was under a simulation."

"We have proof that you were never under the simulation. We have the disk from the original attack," Harrison looks to Tobias. "Play the video of Dauntless when You, Tris, and Uriah infiltrated the compound and stopped the simulation."

The video shows Peter walking around the compound and talking to Dauntless leaders about the others that are under the simulation and why he didn't need to be. It also shows he and these other four men talking about how weak minded the rest of the faction was since they were all under the simulation. Then it fast forwards to us talking to Peter and him saying that he will help but only if we take him because the others would kill him. Then Tobias shooting him. It shows the other four running away at the obvious uprising that Tobias, Uriah, and I were causing.

"This video clearly shows that none of you were ever under the simulation and that you were proud of that. Do you wish to change your plea?"

"No."

"For the charge of crimes against humanity, we find you guilty. You are sentenced to immediate death," Tori says.

The entire compound pumps their fists and hollers in agreement. Each of the leaders takes a gun and fires at Peter. He slumps in his seat. He is dead. They do this same thing for each of the others. All five of them are dead.


	50. Chapter 50

I own nothing!

Chapter 50

Tobias

"Tris don't you think we should talk about this a little more?" I ask as we head back to our apartment after this evening's events.

"Tobias, what is there to talk about? This is a necessity. I know you will save me. Until then I will make it through because I'll know that you are coming for me."

"How could you possibly have that much faith? What if…" she cuts me off.

"What if nothing. Tobias, this is about more than you and me. This is about our entire world. Every faction, our lives. If we don't do this, we will never be able to have the life that we want. We will never be able to get married and have kids and grow old together. We won't last long enough because at some point Erudite is going to come for us."

I know she is right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

I shake my head at her, "I just don't want to lose you. You are all that I have."

She grabs my hand and drags me the rest of the way to our apartment. We enter and she immediately pulls herself into me and kisses me deeply.

"I will always be yours. You have me forever. But first we have to do this. We have to save our lives before they are threatened again. I can't sit here and wait anymore."

"You believe in me that much that you are going to risk your life."

"There is not a doubt in my mind that you are going to save me."

I lean in and kiss her more deeply and with more passion than I have ever kissed her before.

Soon are kisses become groping. My hands are up the back of her shirt and I have it almost complete off her before I realize what I'm doing. I start to pull back, but she stops me. She pulls me closer and we continue to kiss. I sweep her up into my arms and carry her to our bed, our lips still attached. I sit on the bed with her on top of me and in one swift movement her shirt is off and on the floor. All she is wearing is her lacy black bra under her shirt. My hands find the front of her body and I touch the side of her breast. I feel her body stiffen then she relaxes. I touch her breasts over the bra, this is the closest that I have ever gotten to her before. She doesn't protest, she turns her body so she is straddling mine and runs her hands beneath my shirt and over the muscles on my chest. She pulls the shirt up and over my head and now we are both topless. I feel her hands run over my sides and down my back. She skims her fingers across my back and it sends a chill down my spine.

We continue to kiss and rub each other until I am feeling like if this continues I'm going to explode. Like she is reading my mine, she pulls back and looks me in the eyes. She looks worried and a little upset.

"I'm sorry," she says sadly.

"What could you possibly be sorry for?" I ask kissing her on her cheek.

"I want to, but…" her voice trails off. She looks down and refuses to meet my eyes.

"Tris, it's fine. When you are ready… When we are both ready… we can…" I don't finish my thought. I just want her to know that I'm not sure if I'm ready yet either.

She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. I kiss her cheek and wipe away her tears.

"Tris, I love you so much. This is enough for me. It's not about all that. I love just being close to you and holding you in my arms. The rest will come some day, after we are married."

"I love you Tobias."

We lay down in bed and I pull her close to me, our bare torsos touching. I love the feel of her bare skin on mine. We fall asleep, content, in each other's arms. Tomorrow she is going to leave me and turn herself into Erudite. I have to save her from this. If I do nothing else in my life, I can't stop until I have her back and we are safe.

XXX

The next morning I wake with her still sleeping in my arms. I look at her beautiful body and can't help but want to touch her bare skin. I run my fingers across her stomach and she flinches a little and flutters her eyes open. I just continue to stare at her, taking in this new side of her that I have never seen before. She looks at me, "What?" she asks and goes to cover herself but I stop her.

"You are so beautiful, please don't be self-conscious. You are perfect, your body is perfect."

She smiles and reluctantly stops grasping the blanket. I lean in and kiss her lips. I trail kisses down her neck t her shoulders I kiss each of the ravens and linger on the dove that represents her love for me. I move to kiss her stomach and trail kisses across her stomach and the exposed parts of her breasts. Her body shutters under the touch of my lips on her bare skin. I move back up and kiss her lips lightly, then with more vigor.

I don't want this moment to end because I know as soon as it ends she will be going to turn herself into Erudite. I am terrified that I won't be able to save her or that I will lose her to an endless simulation that she can't escape from. Our plan to save her and take down Erudite has to be flawless.

She looks at me, "Are you okay?"

I must have been lost in thought for a moment because I find that I have buried my face in her neck and am trembling a bit.

"Just thinking about what is going to happen. Tris, I really wish you would reconsider this. I just can't lose you and I'm terrified that I won't be able to save you."

"Tobias, look at me," she takes my face in her tiny hands and forces me to look into her eyes. My eyes are burning, threatening to release the tears that are threatening to fall. Tears that I have not allowed to escape from me since I was nine years old at my mother's funeral.

"You will save me," she says. "There is no doubt in my mind. Please, we have to do this so we can have our life together."

I nod, I can't say more. I want to argue, I want to lock her in this room and keep her here until it is safe again. But that isn't Tris, she would never let me do that.

I kiss her on her cheek, "I guess it is time to get up and get the ball rolling on what is going to happen next."

She nods and I get up off of her and go into the bathroom and get in the shower. While I'm there, I allow the tears that have been brewing below the surface to fall. I will allow myself this moment of weakness, and then I'm back to Four, badass Dauntless that only has four fears, can kill someone with my bare hands, and is deadly accurate with a knife and a gun. I'll have to be Four in order save my love from the grasp of the Erudite.

XXX

We make our way to the cafeteria for breakfast and find Tori, Harrison, and Zeke deep in conversation.

"Four, can you come over here please?" Harrison yells across the room.

I kiss Tris on the cheek, "Go ahead and sit with the others, I'll be over in a couple minutes."

She nods and walks over with our friends.

I go and sit next to Zeke across from Tori and Harrison.

"We need to decide who is going to be part of this mission to pose as Dauntless traitors," Harrison says.

"That is easy; it has to be the best of the best. We have to get her out of there safely so everyone involved must be lethal with their hands, knives, and guns," I say.

"This is your mission, Four. I think you need to have a say in who is going to accompany you on this mission," Tori says.

"I know I want Zeke with me. I'd want Uriah if he were up to it."

Zeke chimes in, "Actually Uriah is up for it. The medicine that the doctor said was a new development of Erudite's that would heal him completely has worked. It is like he was never shot. He is actually working out in the training room right now with our old trainer Amar." He thinks for a moment, "Actually Four, if you want the most lethal person in the compound with us, we need Amar."

Harrison speaks up, "Amar would definitely be my first choice. Who is your fifth?"

"I'd ask you Harrison, but I you have a family. I wouldn't feel right about asking you to risk your life for this."

"I appreciate that Four," Harrison says. "But if you want me, I'm with you."

"I think it would be best if you stayed and helped Tori rally the rest of the Dauntless and watch over Evelyn so she doesn't try a double cross or something," Zeke says. "In order for this to work, the rest of the Dauntless and Erudite need to have Erudite surrounded and charge in at the right moment. That is probably more important than being on the inside."

"You are right," Tori says. "I can't do this part on my own Harrison."

He nods in agreement.

"It's settled then," Zeke says. "Come one Four, let's go see Uriah and Amar. Maybe they will have an opinion for a fifth."

We leave the cafeteria and head to the training room. Uriah is sparing with a man who is probably in is thirties. Uriah looks good and strong. Zeke walks up to the ring in the center of the room, "How's he looking Amar?"

"Good and strong," Amar says. "I think he is better now than he was before."

Uriah takes a swing and Amar crouches and sweeps his legs out from under him.

"Still not as good as me though," he laughs helping Uriah to his feet.

"We have a question for you two. We are going to infiltrate Erudite, we need the best we can get in there with us…"

Amar cuts him off, "Who is us?"

"Oh sorry, Amar this is Four."

"So this is the famous Four I've heard about. The guy who only has four fears. Come on up here, I want to see what you have."

Amar wants me to climb into the ring with him and fight him.

Zeke whispers, "He will only agree to help us if he sees that you are good enough to not get yourself killed."

I climb into the ring with the man that Zeke described as the most lethal man in Dauntless. I square off with him and we begin circling each other. He throws the first punch, I move just in time and it barely skims my chin. I'm not prepared for the second punch and it doubles me over and expelled the last bit of choked air from my lungs.

He is very fast and strong. I have to move faster. He moves in for another blow but I sidestep it and kick his legs out from under him. He falls to the floor but quickly springs back up and faces me. He looks surprised and smirks.

I notice that his hands are a little high. I almost feel like he is doing this on purpose to see if I'll notice. I move toward him a fake a throw to his face with my right and come up into his abdomen with my left. I actually winded him, I can't believe it. While he is doubled over I go for a body shot to his ribs. He drops to the floor and kicks my legs out from under me. He tries to throw his elbow into my face, but I roll out of the way and he lands on his elbow on the floor. We both quickly stand.

He went in for another shot and landed two punches, one to my face and the other to my ribs. The blow sends fresh ripples of pain through my torso. I don't fall, but I feel a little lightheaded from the pain. I recover myself enough to shove him away from me to give myself a moment to recuperate.

He moves in quickly, but I anticipate the attack and throw three more punches that landed. Amar falls to the ground.

When he stands he has a determined look to him. I think I might be in trouble. Maybe he was just playing with me until this point. Maybe he is going to make me pay for making him hit the floor.

Amar charges at me with his look of determination. He is fast, but fortunately I am faster. I block his blow and turn to face him again. He charges again and this time he lands a blow to the side of my head, making me a little dizzy. I shove him back again to give myself a moment to recover. This time when he charges, I beat him to it and thrust my fist into his head, knocking him down.

He sits on the floor and looks at me and smile.

"Damn kid, you're good. You say you're from Abnegation? How the hell did you get so muscular and fast, they aren't supposed to work out or run."

"I worked in the sorting center moving boxes, that is how I became stronger. I would sneak out at night and run to the pier and back several times to build strength and speed. The only reason I stayed in Abnegation is because I thought it would be cowardice to leave there to get away from my father. I didn't want to start my life in Dauntless by being a coward."

"From what I understand, you've taken care of that little problem. Right?" Amar asks.

"I guess."

"Seems like you are Dauntless now, that's for sure."

He pauses for a moment and looks between Zeke and me. "Whatever you two need, I'm in. Anyone that can fight me and keep me on my toes is worth helping. And if I may suggest a fifth, I would include Bud. He is probably one of the best marksmen in the faction. Speaking of marksmen, I'd like to see you shoot and throw knives if you don't mind."

We move over to the targets and I take a gun, load it, and aim. Uriah and Zeke taught me to breath in, aim, breath out and fire, so that is exactly what I do.

I fire five rounds into the target, each of the rounds hitting the target dead center.

Amar nods, "Now knives."

I take three knives and move to another target, I follow the same strategy. I breathe in, take aim, breathe out and throw the knife. Each blade finding the center of the target with no problem.

"Very nice job, I see you have learned well," Amar says.

"Didn't I tell you?" Zeke asks. "It's like he was made to be Dauntless. I have never seen someone pick all of this up so fast."

Amar nods, "So let's go up to the tattoo parlor and see Bud. Then we will discuss what our plans are."


	51. Chapter 51

I own nothing!

Chapter 51

Tris

I finish my food and head back to the apartment to wait for Tobias to come back. He left the cafeteria a long time ago with Zeke and never came back. I can't help but hope that everything is okay.

On my way back to the apartment I see Tobias, Zeke, and an older Dauntless man walking toward the tattoo parlor. I wonder what that is all about. I consider following, but then Uriah runs into me, literally.

"Sorry Tris," he says helping me back to my feet. "I was just coming to look for you. Tobias asked me to bring you to the tattoo parlor. They went to discuss strategy and he wants you there for it."

"Let's go," I say and we sprint across the Pit and to the tattoo parlor.

Inside we find Tobias, Zeke, Bud, and this other man sitting and talking.

"Bud you are one of the best marksman in Dauntless, we need you on this mission," the man says.

"Tell me what it is all about and I'll decide," Bud says.

I enter the room with Uriah and they all look at me.

"She is what at least some of this is about," Tobias says. "We are going in to take down Jeanine. Tris is going to sacrifice herself to distract Jeanine so we can infiltrate the compound and destroy her personal computer systems. Those are the systems that control the simulations. We shut her down, we shut down the simulations that people are wired for."

"And how do you plan on distracting Jeanine, Tris?" Bud asks me. He has been kind of like a father since I got her. He reminds me a lot of my dad.

"I'm going to turn myself in as a Divergent. Everyone already knows about me anyway so it won't be a surprise to her. While she is attempting to experiment on me, it should distract her enough to get you guys in there to kill her computers."

"Tris, I don't like this," Bud says. "And Tobias, I thought you loved this girl. I can't believe you are going to allow this to happen."

"I don't like it either, but she has made up her mind. I don't know if you have tried to change her mind about anything yet, but I can't figure out how to do it. She is stubborn," Tobias says.

"Look, this is going to happen and I am counting on all of you to get me out. I'll hold my own with the simulations. There hasn't been a single one that I haven't been able to control yet," I say.

"Seems to me that this young lady is going whether we like it or not," the other man says. "By the way, my name is Amar. I was Zeke and Uriah's trainer."

"Nice to meet you, Amar. I'm Tris."

"Abnegation born also. How is your aim and fighting ability?" Amar asks. I guess this is the trainer in him because it seems like an odd question to me.

"I guess I'm pretty accurate and I do okay fighting."

"Are you kidding?" Uriah asks. "Amar, do you remember that dude the shot me that was just executed?"

"Yeah, Peter. He was the one that stabbed that other boy in the eye during initiation."

"Yeah, that one," Uriah says. "She beat the crap out of him that night he shot me. She saved my life. She is the reason that he was captured, she knocked him out."

He looks at me impressed, "How about your accuracy? Let's go test it."

All six of us leave the tattoo parlor and go to the training room. I take a gun and move to an unused target. I fire three rounds into the target, each of them finding a spot in the center. I look to the target next to me and it looks like someone fired bullets through the same hole. That person is definitely more accurate than I am, but I find my mark.

"No bad, almost as good as your young man here," Amar says gesturing from Tobias to the target that I just noticed.

"Tobias did that?" I ask.

"Yep, Four is pretty kick ass isn't he?" Zeke asks.

"Knives now," Amar says.

I take three knives and again I notice the target next to me has three knives dead center and know that Tobias also did that. I look at him and smirk.

I follow how Uriah taught me and throw the knives, remembering to breathe with each throw. Each knife finds a spot in the center of the target.

Amar nods in approval. "Well, at least we know when we find you; you will be able to defend yourself just fine."

"So what is our strategy, we need to be flawless. I won't risk her life for any longer than necessary," Tobias says.

"I will be leaving for Erudite just after dinner tonight. I thought it would be best to go there at night."

"We will arrive one by one at Erudite beginning tomorrow morning. We should each arrive shortly after the other so as not to draw attention to each other," Zeke says.

"And why are we arriving separately?" Amar asks.

"Because we thought it would be a bit strange to have five Dauntless traitors together like that," Zeke explains.

"On the contrary, that is exactly how we should be. Dauntless traitors would not behave how we think they should. They will be traveling in packs, for more protection and to be more intimidating," Bud chimes in.

"I agree. So far every time we have seen the Dauntless traitors, they have been in packs," Tobias says.

"Also, it would be foolish to separate and enter the compound. If we are caught together, we stand a chance. If we are alone, we are as good as dead," Amar says.

"Okay, so then we arrive there together at some point tomorrow. We do what we can to locate Jeanine's secret lab, destroy the computers, and save Tris," Uriah says.

"How do we locate the lab?" Zeke asks.

"Why not talk to Will? Maybe he has some inside information or maybe he could get it from his sister. She is currently staying in Amity. Maybe he could contact them and try to talk to her about it," I suggest.

"Do you have aptitude for Erudite?" Amar asks.

I look at him nervously. "Yes, Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite," I say.

"Three? That is unusual," Amar says. "Most only have two."

I look at Tobias and smile. He has three also, the same three as I have. His is brilliant, brave and selfless.

"That is a very good idea. Uriah, would you mind going to get Will for us please?" Amar asks.

Uriah gets up and goes to find Will.

"In the meantime, we need to decide what we are going to do once we have Tris and the computers are destroyed. What are we going to do with the Erudite?" Bud asks.

"I think we will need to get Will's and his sister's help with that part too. She may be able to identify the Erudite that worked closest to Jeanine. We can try them and execute them if necessary," Tobias says. "As for the rest of the Erudite, I think with some supervision, we could provide them with the medical and agricultural records and allow them to continue with their work."

Everyone nods at Tobias, but I have one question of my own.

"What about the distraction. You said that you would do something to distract Jeanine so that you can save me. How will I know what that distraction is?"

"When the Dauntless and factionless attack, that will be the distraction. Her compound surrounded and attacked should distract her at least a little. She will have to make a decision about what to do about the attack," Zeke explains.

"By then we should be in her office or even her lab. We will be close by to come get you," Tobias says.

Uriah returns with Will, "Uriah explained what you want from me, I do know where her office is, but I don't know anything about the lab. My guess is there is a secret door from her office that will take you to her labs. But while I was there, I didn't have the opportunity to explore her office as much as I would have liked. I do however know that her computers are not in her office. I will contact Cara and see about getting more information."

"We may need her help to determine who the sadistic Erudite are and who are the ones that can be trusted," Tobias says.

"I'll ask her if she can come to Dauntless," Will says and walks away.

Tori and Harrison walk into the training room as Will is on his way out, "So, what's the verdict? Who will be going on this mission with Zeke and Four?" Tori asks.

"It will be me, Four, Uriah, Amar, and Bud," Zeke responds.

"What happened to your face, Four? And Amar, what happened to you?" Tori asks.

"I was testing Four's abilities. He is good. Gave me a run for my money, that's for sure."

"You fought Amar? And you didn't get knocked out?" Tori asks. "What in the world were you learning in Abnegation that prepared you so much for Dauntless life?"

"Let's just say I've had plenty of experience with beatings and defending myself. Zeke taught me the rest," Tobias says.

Everyone gives Tobias a knowing look. We have all ready the accusations from the Erudite about Marcus Eaton and how horrible he was to his wife and son. Harrison quickly changes the subject.

"What's the plan?" Harrison asks.

"Okay well," Bud says. "Tris leaves tonight and we leave tomorrow morning. The Dauntless and factionless arrive. They surround the building. When they attack that is our cue to break into where Tris is being held, save her and then find the computers and destroy them. Then we have to get out without getting ourselves killed. Sounds like fun!"

I look at him a little bewildered. He makes it all sound so easy, so cut and dry. This is what is going to happen in less than one hundred words. It almost makes it seem less daunting, less impossible.

"Well, thanks for that summary," Amar snickers. "Did you two get all of that?"

Tori smiles and nods, "Yeah, I think we got it." She turns her attention to me, "Are you sure you want to do this? We can always find another way in."

"I'm sure and if one more person asks me that, I'm going to get a pellet gun and shoot you all in the behinds. If Jeanine is not distracted by someone, you will never get in. I will be able to distract her because she will find it perplexing that she won't have a simulation that I can't fight. It may even distract her more because she will probably attempt to create a serum just for me."

"A pellet gun, huh? That could be interesting," Tobias smirks.

"Seriously, what's the timeline?" Harrison asks through a smile.

"Tris is leaving tonight after dinner. She is going to turn herself in to the Erudite. Tomorrow, the five of us will set out to Erudite ourselves and assume ourselves into their ranks. We will attempt to find where Tris is being held and where Jeanine's office and secret lab are located. In four days you will arrive with the Dauntless and factionless," Tobias explains.

"Will Tris be able to last four days?" Tori asks.

"I guess I'll have no choice but to last, won't I?"

Everyone nods in agreement.

"Okay, I think you should all stick together and get to know each other better over the next few hours," Tori instructs.

We all nod.


	52. Chapter 52

I own nothing!

Chapter 52

Tobias

We spend the rest of the day in the training room talking, getting to know each other, firing guns, and throwing knives. But mostly we talk.

Just before dinner, the fateful question is asked. The question that I knew I wouldn't be able to keep out of the conversation.

"So Four, tell me about your father," Amar says.

"Not much to tell. He was a horrible man who made my life hell. I beat him up for trying to hurt Tris. The rest is history."

"Now, my next question for you, what was in your fear landscape? I mean it is unheard of to only have two fears."

I really don't want to talk about myself. I sit quietly for a while and think about how to answer this. I guess it was only a matter of time before someone wanted to know what my fears were, especially since they are the fewest anyone has ever heard of.

"Heights, small enclosed spaces, having to kill someone in cold blood, and…" I pause for a moment. I've never told Tris about this. They all look at me patiently. "…and someone hurting Tris and not being able to stop it."

She stares at me in disbelief. "You never told me that."

I just look down and shutter at the memory of Marcus beating her with the belt in my fear landscape and being powerless to help her.

She takes my hand and puts her other hand on my cheek. "No wonder you have been fighting me so much about this."

"It's like my fear is coming true," I say softly.

She pulls me down to her and firmly places her lips to mine. It's like we are the only people in the room for a moment. She pulls away and looks into my eyes, "You will save me. I know you will."

Amar speaks up, "Those are your only fears? It's like the simulation was grasping at anything. You are more impressive than I realized."

He doesn't say more and I have no idea what he means by that.

XXX

We go to the cafeteria for dinner. The atmosphere between Tris and I is thick and clouded with worries and fear. We eat in silence for most of the time, listening to the chatter around the room and between our friends. No one speaks of what is about to happen. She will leave here following dinner and head to Erudite, alone.

Once we are done eating, the group heads out to the train to wish her luck and say goodbye. She has a look of determination on her face, but I can tell she is trying desperately not to shake uncontrollably or to cry. She hugs each person in turn.

When she gets to Tori, she tells Tris, "Just be strong. These guys won't let you down!"

Then she moves to Harrison, "I'll be there and I'll make sure we take care of Jeanine. Just remember, four days from today!" He hugs her tightly.

Zeke and Uriah are next. They pull her into a hug at the same time. "We won't let you down," Zeke says. "We promise," Uriah finishes.

Amar hugs her and wishes her luck.

Then she reaches Bud. He has been like a father to her since we arrived at Dauntless. "Now listen to me. You are strong and capable, just like your mother. She never really left Dauntless and she will never really leave you. She is the strength and power within you. She will be with you until I get there to bring you back." He kisses her on the top of her head and releases her.

Finally she gets to me. She begins to hug me and say goodbye, but I refuse. "I'm going with you on the train."

"No Tobias, you can't," she protests.

"There is no argument here. Either I go with you until it is time for you to exit the train, or I'm carrying you back inside and locking you in our apartment."

She looks at me and smiles, "Okay, I knew you wouldn't let me go like this."

We turn to the others, "I'm going with her on the train. I'll be back soon."

"We all assumed you would," Christina says. She comes up and hugs Tris one last time. "When you get back, we are going to completely have a girls only day, got it?"

Tris smiles and nods in agreement.

We hear the train in the distance and prepare to jump on. Tris waves one last time to everyone and we run hand in hand to the train. I pull myself into a car and lift her in with me. I pull a little too hard, and she falls against my chest. My fingers slide down her arms to her elbows and I hold her there as we drift away from Dauntless, from our friends.

We don't speak. I lead her toward the wall and I sink down to the floor, pulling her down with me. I lean against the wall and she sits with her legs to her side facing me. The wind blows her hair across her face and I can't help but look at this beautiful girl in front of me. She is everything that I have ever wanted, and she is mine. I place my palms on her face and pull her mouth to mine.

I can feel her shiver and I wonder if she is cold or if it is our closeness that makes her tremble. I pull away from her lips and kiss her jaw and neck. I run my finger through her hair as I continue to her ear and cheek. I want to touch every part of her face with my lips.

The train wobbles and she is thrown off balance. She puts her hand out to steady herself and her hand lands on my hip. This sends a jolt of electricity through my body. She makes every part of me tingle with excitement and longing.

All of a sudden she throws her leg over me; she sits on top of me and straddles my legs. She wraps her arms around my neck and she skims the back of my neck with her fingers then she runs them into my hair. She leans in and kisses me. My body is vibrating. I sit up straighter and pull my hands to her shoulders. I slide my fingers gently down her spine to the small of her back. I pull her closer to me. I want her to be as close to me as I can get her. I am kissing her with an insatiable desire, almost not able to control myself. I pull my hand around her waist, and up the side of her body. I unzip her jacket a few inches and pull away from the kiss. I look from her lips to her neck then her collar bone. I brush my finger lightly across her tattoos and kiss each bird and as always, lingering on the dove.

The train slows, indicating that we have reached the city and are close to Erudite. "I hate to say this, but we have to get up now." I don't want to move or let her go. I want to keep the pressure of her body on mine. I know that I won't feel her body on mine for a while once I let her go.

We stand and reach the door. Erudite's lights shine in the distance.

"It's time for me to go," she says sadly. "I'll be waiting for you."

I take her hand in mine and run my fingers across the ring that symbolizes our future together. I kiss her hand, and then I press my lips to hers one last time. It is full of passion and desperation. She smiles and me and releases my hand. Before I realize what happened, she is gone from the train. Walking backward away from the train, away from me, waving and blowing kisses.

XXX

When I arrive back at Dauntless some time later, I decide the first thing I'm going to do is get another tattoo.

I walk into the tattoo parlor and find Bud sitting there talking to Amar and Tori.

"How'd it go?" Amar asks.

"She's gone. In the hands of Jeanine by now," I say sadly.

"I'm actually surprised you let her go. I thought for sure that when you went with her you were either going to go to Erudite with her or drag her back kicking and screaming," Tori says.

"We have a plan, and the only way for her to survive and for me to get her back is for us to pull this plan off perfectly."

I turn to Bud, "I want a tattoo."

"What would you like?" Bud asks.

"I'm thinking of something that starts at the base of my neck and extends over my right shoulder to the top of my chest and extends down my bicep. I also want it to blend in to the rest of my back."

The four of us sit and brainstorm for a while and Bud sketches what I'm saying. He comes up with something that I love. Bud made sure it incorporates a raven and the dove also.

We sit and talk while Bud covers my shoulder to the top of my chest and half way down my bicep. When it is done it is fantastic. It takes the flames that are on my back. They cover my shoulder along with the raging white water that is also on my back stretching part way across my bicep. The dove is the prominent fixture on my chest with the flames and the raven is displayed on my bicep with the whitewater. It is fantastic.

"Wow, you're artwork is great, Bud! This is great," I say.

"No problem," Bud smiles.

I get up to leave and Amar follows me out of the tattoo parlor and walks with me to my apartment. When we get there, I invite him in. I don't know what he wants, but apparently he wants to talk about something.

"So Four, tell me about the scars on your back that the huge tattoo is covering."

He cuts right to the chase. What's up with this? Why the hell does he think it is okay to ask me this question?

"What are you talking about?" I ask with a scowl.

"Four, I saw them. Even under all the ink. Did you have that whole thing done in one day?"

"Yeah, it took all day but it was worth it," I pause for a moment. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but my scars are ancient history that I would prefer to leave in the past."

"I'm asking for a specific reason. I just want to hear if my suspicions are accurate from you is all."

"If you know, then why do I need to talk about it? Marcus was an abusive asshole that felt it was better to whip his son and never let him out of the house than it was to be a good father and show his son love."

"Because I knew Marcus when we were kinds in Candor. He was kind of an asshole then. Power hungry and abusive. He almost beat a girl to death when he was fifteen. He got off though because he said it was an accident under truth serum. The next year he transferred to Abnegation and I to Dauntless. I only saw him again two years ago at the choosing ceremony. I saw him hit you in the hall right before you went in. It sounded like he was threatening you or something."

I nod, remembering that day. "Yeah, well I was going to transfer that day, but after that I thought it would be cowardice to transfer just to get away from him. I couldn't start my life in Dauntless as a coward. And as far as the truth serum, I fought the effects. I'm sure that is something that he could have done too. I recently found out that Marcus is Divergent. I wish we could have sent him to Jeanine to be a test subject instead of Tris."

"Tris will be fine. She is strong and obviously very brave. She will figure out a way to survive while she is there," he pauses. "You, however, have an important decision to make. The leaders and I were talking. We want to offer you and Tris the opportunity to join us here in Dauntless permanently. We think you two both deserve a second chance to transfer. This has never been done before so there is no precedence, but under the circumstances we feel it would be advantageous for all if us if you two would agree to stay. You are one of the best fighters that I have ever encountered. I know you hate Marcus, but he gave you that fire and thirst to survive."

"I don't know, I'll have to discuss this with Tris, wherever she goes I go."

I would love to stay here. We have made friends that I never thought would be possible. There is something so freeing about being in a place where you know people care about what happens to you.

"How can you make this offer? You aren't a leader," I ask.

"No, I'm not. But they have respect for my opinion and they listen to me because they recognize that I know what I am talking about. In this case, there was no need to try to convince them of anything. They were all in complete agreement."

"And what about Brian, Mike, Susan, and Felicia. They have all trained hard to become useful here. Both Brian and Mike have voluntarily taken shifts guarding the prisoners. Felicia and Tris both work in the infirmary as nurses. I don't know if Tris would stay here without them."

"They are welcome too. Zeke actually said you would ask about them and that the offer should be extended to them as well. I actually believe Zeke was already going to talk to them," Amar says.

"When we get Tris back, I'll ask her."

"Fair enough. Well, I'm going to go. We have a big day ahead. Good night Four."

"Good night Amar."

He leaves and I go and lie down in the bed. It is the first time that I will sleep without her since we started this adventure over two months ago, since her initiation.


	53. Chapter 53

I own nothing!

Chapter 53

Tris

I jump from the train and wave goodbye to Tobias. I refused to let him see me cry, but now that I'm alone the tears begin to stream down my cheeks. Every doubt in my mind that I refused to give a voice starts to enter my consciousness. What if he can't save me? What if he dies? Maybe he was right, maybe I should have stayed back and locked myself away safely.

I continue to walk toward Erudite headquarters. I play with the ring on my finger. My beautiful engagement ring that he gave me, that promises a bright future. But I wonder where that future will be. When this is all over, will we return to Abnegation? Will it even be possible for us to return to our selfless lives after all that we have seen, done, and learned?

I enter Erudite compound and walk up to the counter. No one pays attention to me. I wait patiently for a moment and still the woman sitting there doesn't acknowledge me.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see Jeanine Matthews. She is expecting me."

"Name please," the woman says without looking up.

"Tris Prior, Divergent."

That got her attention. She looks at me shocked. "You've got to get out of here," she whispers. "Please go, before they come get you."

I can't believe that there are good Erudite here still. This woman is trying to save me.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have to turn myself in so she stops trying to kill people with the simulation."

The woman looks at me sadly and gestures toward one of the Dauntless traitors. "Please take this girl up to Ms. Matthews."

They lead me toward the elevator and we ascend to the upper levels of the building. My hands start to shake and I try to calm the shaking by clutching the hem of my shirt.

The elevator doors open to reveal a light blue hall lit by florescent lights. The guards push me toward a door at the other end of the hall. When we stop they knock.

"Come in," a voice calls. It is the same voice that I heard in my simulation telling me to kill Caleb and Tobias. It is the same voice that I heard during my aptitude test telling me to choose.

One of the guards pushes the door open to reveal a rather bare office. There is a desk in the middle of the room, but nothing else. This must be Jeanine's office. This confirms Will's belief that there is another space, a lab that she uses that houses her personal computer and probably whatever other inflammatory items she has about controlling people and mass murder.

"What do we have here?" She asks. "Beatrice Prior, it's nice to see you. I always had my suspicions that you are Divergent with all of the problems with your aptitude test, but it is impossible to tell with Abnegation. They wouldn't share their simulation results with me like the Dauntless."

She pauses and looks me over, "So you are here to turn yourself in? I find that difficult to believe. What exactly are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the exact reason that I stated. I am here to turn myself in. You told the Candor that you would stop the individual attacks on their faction if someone turned themselves in. I am here so you stop attacking them." I pull down my sleeve revealing the blue mark from when I was hit by the serum at Candor.

"I see," she smiles. "You are going to allow yourself to be experimented on in order to save lives. That is quite Abnegation of you. Why is it that most Divergent come from the weak minded Abnegation?"

"It takes a strong mind to forget oneself. It also takes a strong mind to fight simulations. Only a weak minded person would think so linearly and use simulations to control entire factions to their will," I growl at her.

She smiles as if unfazed by my words. I know I'm right though and seeing this woman in front of me infuriates me more than I ever imagined. She is the reason that my family is dead. She is the reason that I haven't seen Caleb since he went to Amity with the other Abnegation. She is the reason that I currently don't really have a real home anymore. The more I think about what this woman has taken from me, the angrier I get.

"Well Beatrice, I think it is time to get started. I have some serums that I have been just itching to try out on someone and you seem like the best candidate." Her tone is sickeningly sweet and nice, but her demeanor is rigid and cruel. "Bring her into the lab."

They open a sliding door in the wall that is hidden by a book case. I hope the guys can find the way through there.

The guard leads me to a huge tube in the corner of the room, it is an MRI machine. She will be able to take pictures of my brain. "I want to see if there is something different about your brain than an average person. I need some information from you first though. Tell me, what was your aptitude?"

"First, I want to know why your care what my aptitude is?"

"I've heard a rumor that you received equal aptitude for three factions, I want to know what they are. It may impact my experiments on the serum."

"Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite," I say. I'm going to try to get as much information from her about what she is going to do to me. It might impact the way we handle things once I'm rescued and she is dead.

"Interesting…" she says. "Lie down on the table, Beatrice."

"No."

"You know I can have you forced onto the table. Why fight, it is illogical," she sighs.

"I want to know what you are going to do to me. I want to see the scans. We both know that even if you tie me down, I can still move enough to mess up the scan. I want full disclosure."

"Why?" she asks.

I've got her curious now. Hopefully I can play her enough to distract her.

"Because I have equal aptitude for Erudite, you should understand that."

She seems to contemplate the idea of sharing this information. She seems reluctant.

"What do you have to lose? You are just going to kill me once I'm no longer useful anyways. What does it matter if I understand what you are doing and what is different about my brain?"

"Fine, I'll describe every procedure and you can see the scans. Now lie down."

I climb onto the table and lie down. The table slides back into the machine. Soon the knocking and whirring sounds of the MRI machine are surrounding me. I close my eyes and try to imagine myself anywhere but here. I try to focus on Tobias saving me before she kills me. Soon the monotonousness of the sounds causes me to fall asleep.

I don't know how long I was in there when the knocking sounds have stopped and the table is slides back out of the tube.

I stand up and look at the guard at the door. He is a different man than the one that brought me here. He guides me over to the computer monitors where Jeanine and a group of people stand.

There is an image of my brain on the screen that they are looking at.

"Can someone tell Beatrice what we are looking at?" Jeanine asks.

"This is her prefrontal cortex," one of the people says.

"And who can tell her what that does?"

"It is responsible for organizing your thoughts and emotions," another person says.

These must be Jeanine's students. They all stand there and raise her hand every time she asks a question, trying to impress her.

"What is different about hers?"

"It is larger than normal," one of the students says.

"Is there anything else?" Jeanine asks.

"Her orbitofrontal cortex is smaller than average which means she is not reward motivated."

"So this means what for the serums exactly," Jeanine prompts.

"We need to suppress the activity in the prefrontal cortex with the serum."

Jeanine smiles, "And that is where we will begin." She turns to the guard, "Take her to her cell until we are ready with the new serum."

The guard grabs me by the arm and leads me to a room with nothing but a bed. It is all stark white with no windows, and when the door closes it is seamless.

I sit in this room for what could be minutes, hours, or day. I have no way to determine the passage of time in this room. For all I know, Tobias could already be here trying to get to me.

When the guard returns, it is someone completely different. I look at her, "What time is it?" I ask.

"Why should I give you that information?" she asks dryly taking my arm and leading me back to Jeanine's lab.

When I enter the room, the same students are there surrounding Jeanine, starving for her approval. They make me sick.

"Beatrice, we will be injecting you with a serum that should suppress your prefrontal cortex thus plunging you into a simulation that you cannot control," Jeanine explains. She turns to one of the students and commands, "The serum."

He comes to me and plunges the needle into my neck. Jeanine types something on a keyboard and the room changes.

XXX

I stand in my parents' house in Abnegation with my mother. She stands in the kitchen baking food, probably for the factionless. She never made special treats for the family, that would be selfish. She turns her head and frowns at me.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"There are just so many people to feed and we just don't have enough food," she says sadly.

She takes my hands and leads me down the streets of our neighborhood toward the factionless sector of the city. All of the homes on our block have been destroyed, nothing but piles of rubble are left.

"Mom, what happened here?" I ask.

"This is what war does Beatrice, it decimates people and communities. War is not the answer here."

"Where are we going?"

"We are going to find a way to stop this war. We cannot survive if we are all fighting."

I think about this for a while. I know my mother is right, that was the reason that I came here, to try to stop a fully fledged war.

Suddenly one of the buildings that is still standing explodes when I look at it and I am back in Jeanine's lab. I keep my eyes closed and try to savor the image of my mother and burn it to my memory. I will never see her alive again and I want to remember every detail.

I slowly open my eyes and look at Jeanine. She looks furious. "You are going to have to do better than that," I tell her.

"Don't worry, I will."

The time passes, but I don't know how much. All I know is Jeanine has put me through five different simulations that I had no problem controlling. She is becoming visibly angry and annoyed because with each failure, I remind her of that failure. The last simulation lasted only seconds at best. It started but ended quickly.

She yelled at the Dauntless guard to take me back to the room and stormed off to her computers. I smirk to myself. I am the reason that she is losing her cool and I love it.

When the guard drops me off in the prison cell again, I ask her for the time. She looks at me, smirks and closes the door. I wonder what harm it would do to tell me what time it is. I have no idea how long I've been here. It could be hours or a whole day could have gone by. How will I ever know when the others arrive? I will never hear or see the distraction when it happens when I'm locked in a soundproof room with no windows.

I must sleep because I don't remember ever laying down, but when the door opens again I am on the bed.

Yet another guard has come to get me. This one looks familiar though, I look at him a little disoriented. Then I suddenly realize who I'm looking at, it is Amar. He smiles at me, but speaks harshly. His tone definitely doesn't match is expression. He must be putting on a show with his voice.

"Come on Beatrice, it is time for your next simulation," he says coldly.

I stand and look at him and try to hide any sign of recognition.

"What time is it?" I ask. I have been asking the same question every time someone takes me from one place to another.

He looks at his watch, "It is eight in the morning on Thursday."

I have been here for two days already and have gone through too many simulations to remember. I'm exhausted.

He leads me to the lab where Jeanine is waiting. She doesn't acknowledge him at all. He must just look like another Dauntless guard to her. She has no idea that this man is on my side. I walk toward the table and Amar walks next to me like he is guarding against me trying something. Once I'm on the table he backs up and stands next to the door.

Jeanine comes to me with another serum in her hand. "Well Beatrice, I think I've finally done it. I think this will be the serum that finally breaks you down." She says these words almost proudly. She not only wants to make the serum work, but she wants to completely break me, shatter me into pieces.

She looks toward Amar and says, "Open the door and let him in."

Panic erupts through me, have they somehow caught Tobias? Has Amar actually turned? A thousand different scenarios fly through my mind in the seconds that it takes for Amar to open the door.

The face that enters the room is worse than anything I could have imagined. The face that I see is the face that I looked to for friendship and comfort through my whole life. The face that I believed would always look out for me and take care of me. The face is my brother.


	54. Chapter 54

I own nothing!

Chapter 54

Tobias

I wake in the morning and quickly get dressed all in black. I grab the Dauntless traitor jacket with the blue armband and leave for the cafeteria.

Upon arrival at breakfast, I find Zeke, Amar, Bud, and Uriah all sitting together. They are all dressed the same way as I am and have their traitor coats also.

I grab my breakfast and join them. We all sit quietly and eat and none of our friends come over and eat with us. They sit at the next table and quietly chatter together. At this point we have all said our goodbyes to them and there is nothing more to say. I'm sure the others have also shared goodbyes with their families. I said my goodbyes to Tris yesterday when I left her in the hands of the pure evil of Jeanine Matthews. At this point I can only hope that she is fighting as hard as she can knowing I'm coming for her.

There is nothing more for the five of us to discuss. We have gone over and over what our plans are. But we all know this is war, anything can happen and we will just have to be prepared for it as best we can.

We all finish and Bud looks at his watch, "Well, the train will be here in ten minutes. We should head out."

We all nod and silently stand and start to walk out of the cafeteria. Before we leave, Marlene runs up crying and throws herself into Uriah's arms and kisses him passionately. She whispers something in his ear that makes him blush and runs back to her table and slumps down next to Lynn and Shauna. He looks down sadly and turns toward the doors. We all continue out of the cafeteria and begin our ascent toward the glass ceiling and out to the train.

Once we are on the train and bulleting straight to the center of the city Amar speaks up, "We are going to have to try to infiltrate the guards that are in charge of guarding Tris, that is the best way I can think of to find her and find the lab."

"I'll do that," I immediately speak up.

"No, it can't be you Four. Jeanine knows you because of Marcus. She may recognize you. And I don't know if Tris will be able to control herself if she sees you," Zeke says.

"I was thinking it should be Zeke and me that attempt to infiltrate her guards. One of us is bound to be successful and actually find her," Amar says.

I nod in agreement. I know they are right, but I just want to get to her and give her some hope. But I guess if she sees Amar of Zeke it will have the same effect.

We sit in silence for the rest of the ride to Erudite headquarters. Just before it is time to jump, Uriah asks a question. "If someone asks, what kind of mission have we been out on?"

"We can say we have been trying to drive Divergent out of the factionless sector. We know they have been trying to find and attack the factionless so it is logical that there would be Dauntless traitors out there," Bud says.

"Okay, no one may ask. But I just wanted to check. What if someone recognizes us? I mean you are the tattoo artist and Amar was the trainer, someone may know you," Uriah says.

I didn't even think about that. I was so interested in getting the most qualified people here, I didn't even think that they could be recognized.

"I don't think that will be a problem," Bud says. "Even if they question us, we can say that we have been undercover in the factionless sector finding the Divergent for you three to bring back. They have no idea who is where and what they are doing. Most of these Dauntless are mindless followers who probably won't question anything. But it is good to have a story ready."

We reach the compound and enter the lobby. No one even looks up at us or pays any attention to who we are. Everyone just bustles around. We follow some Dauntless around trying to get the lay of the land. We hear them talking about a meeting with the guards that are supposed to be going out to the factionless sector after dinner tonight in the conference room. We hear some others talking about the Candor and the simulation that they are all wired for. Apparently they have intentions on activating their simulation soon.

They lead us to a room that seems to be the Dauntless sleeping quarters. We quickly locate five cots that are unused and claim them as our own. We need to look like we belong here quickly. While we are in the sleeping quarters, we hear two guards talking about the prisoner that they are experimenting on and how they have to stand there and watch her go through simulation after simulation.

"Man, I don't want to do this anymore. There is nothing fun or dangerous about watching that little girl go through simulations that she gets herself out of faster than it takes Jeanine to get her into it," the female guard says.

"I know. I'd rather be out finding Divergent in the factionless sector," says the male guard.

I am so proud of her. It sounds like Tris is giving Jeanine a hard time. She is staying strong, that is what I needed to hear.

Amar seems to take this as an opening. He nudges Zeke and they walk over to the guards and start up a conversation.

"Did I just hear you say you would rather go out to the factionless sector than stay here?" Amar asks.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" the male guard says.

"Well," Zeke says. "We just got back from the factionless sector and have to head out again tonight. We thought that maybe if you wanted to change assignments we would gladly take your spot." He leans in to the male guard and whispers loud enough for us to hear, "You see, I have a lady here that I'd really like some quality time with if you get me. I've been in the factionless sector for a long time now and I'm desperate for some loving."

The guard looks at him and smirks, "I don't know about her, but I'll gladly switch you. When are you supposed to leave and where are you going?"

"Tonight after dinner and I'm not sure where we were going back to. We have been in several different places. But I know there is a briefing in one of the conference room tonight."

The guy looks at the female guard as if asking her what she is going to do.

"Yeah, I'll switch too. I need out of here for a little while. I hate being around all of these egg heads all of the time."

"What are your shifts?" Zeke asks.

"I'm supposed to escort the girl around tomorrow morning starting at breakfast," the female guard says. "Then I go back for the dinner shift."

"I have the lunch shift tomorrow," says the male guard. "Then the late shift."

"Would one of you mind showing us around the prison area and where she is going? We have been out in the factionless sector for quite some time and haven't been through most of the compound," Amar says.

"Sure," the female guard says. "No one goes up there unless we have to anyway. Most people don't know anything about that area because they avoid it." She leans in and whispers, "Jeanine creeps most of us out."

Amar and Zeke smile and the four of them leave the room. Bud, Uriah, and I sit there in shock. This can't possibly be this easy to get in here. But they didn't even seem remotely suspicious about Amar and Zeke.

The three of us hang around the sleeping quarters listening to people's conversations. Dauntless don't try to hide anything about what is going on. Most of them don't even know or understand what is really going on and they don't seem to care. For them it's all about the kill.

Amar and Zeke come back just in time for us to follow the Dauntless to the cafeteria for lunch. We decide it would be best to try to figure out who is in charge of the Dauntless traitors since both Max and Eric are dead. We split up in the cafeteria and sit around the Dauntless listening in on their conversations.

I sit with a group that seems to have a real problem with the way things are being run with Eric and Max dead. They are complaining about some woman who is in charge but is a puppet of the Erudite.

I finish my lunch and leave the cafeteria. I walk into the lobby and wait for the others so we can talk. I sit and think about Tris. She is in here somewhere and Amar and Zeke know where. I try to send my thoughts to her to be strong and brave. That I'm coming for her, I will save her no matter what. I don't know if she can feel me here, but I hope she can.

Soon I am joined by the others and we decide that we are going to walk around outside and pretend like we are doing a perimeter sweep of the compound.

"The group I was sitting with was complaining about a woman in charge that they said is a puppet of the Erudite. My guess is she is under a simulation like Max was when we interrogated him."

"That would make sense; Jeanine isn't going to take any chances on the Dauntless having second thoughts. She is going to want to control them as much as possible. If she can control the leaders, most Dauntless will follow the leaders no matter how wrong they are," Bud explains.

"I was sitting with a group where a couple of the people are guards for Tris. She is okay, but she is being tortured through simulations. Even though she is able to fight them, from the sounds of it the simulations are taking a toll on her. Bringing up the death of her parents and things about her relationship with Four. She has only been here for a day and has gone through about ten simulations," Uriah explains.

"We have to get her out of here," I say. "She isn't going to be able to last forever."

"She is going to have to last three more days. We can't even try to get in there without the rest of the Dauntless and factionless. Zeke and I will let her know we are here. I'm taking the breakfast and dinner shifts, Zeke is taking the lunch and night shift tomorrow."

I nod, "Did those guards show you were Jeanine's lab is?"

"Yes, apparently that is where they are giving Tris the serum. It can be reached through Jeanine's office, there is a secret panel behind a bookcase. Once you enter through that way, there is a whole wing in that area where Tris is being held. There is no other entrance that is why the guards are set up at those specific times, so she doesn't have to see them," Amar says.

"Yeah, the guards seemed pretty bitter about it too," Zeke says. "I don't know if any of the Dauntless are actually happy here. But they won't be welcome back at the compound as traitors."

We reenter the lobby and go up to the floor where the sleeping quarters are. We find out that there are about one hundred seventy-five Dauntless here at Erudite. They told us about the one hundred fifty that were captured or killed at the Dauntless compound a few weeks ago.

We will easily outnumber the Dauntless traitors and Erudite with the Dauntless and factionless that will be here in three days. Tomorrow, Zeke and Amar will go to Tris and will remain in that area until the reinforcements arrive. Uriah, Bud, and I will see about the armory that they have available to them and attempt to wipe out their available weapons. If we can leave them weaponless, we can hopefully limit the amount of lives lost when the others attack.


	55. Chapter 55

I own nothing!

Chapter 55

Tris

"Caleb?"

My mind is reeling at seeing him. Without me realizing what Jeanine did, she injected me with her newest serum.

XXX

I'm back in Abnegation with my parents. My father is sitting at his desk and my mother is sitting and knitting a blanket to give to the factionless. It is what seems like a normal night in our home. The only thing that is wrong is Caleb isn't here.

"Mom, where's Caleb?" I ask.

She looks at me puzzled, "Who's Caleb?"

"What do you mean? He's your son."

"We don't have a son named Caleb, you are an only child Beatrice," my father says without looking up.

"Beatrice, there are people in this world that you cannot count on; you can't count on a brother that never really existed. Remember that," my mother says.

I ponder that for a moment.

The fire place explodes and the simulation is gone.

I open my eyes to a shocked Caleb and a ferocious looking Jeanine.

"Take her back to her cell," she barks at Amar.

He comes over and takes my arm and leads me from the room. He looks at me with shock.

"How did you do that?" he whispers. "You were only under for about a minute and a half."

I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know."

"Zeke will be here at lunch time. You have to last two more days, can you do that?"

I nod and look at him, "Where's Four?"

"He's here. We decided it would be best if Zeke and I came up here to you. We weren't sure if either of you would be able to hold it together if he came up. I'll see you at dinner."

With that I enter my cell and he closes and locks the door. I lie on the bed and sleep. There is nothing more to do in this room than to sleep away the hours until the next simulation.

XXX

"Beatrice."

I jolt up from my bed and look toward the door. I scowl at him, how dare he come here. Standing in the door way is Caleb. He looks at me, and then looks down.

"How long?" I ask.

"What?"

"How long did you betray our family? Before they died? After? Were you always Erudite?" my voice raises with every question. I'm furious that he has the nerve to come here.

"It's not that easy Beatrice," he says.

"Yes it is Caleb, either you betrayed our family for this evil faction or you didn't."

"I have always been Erudite," he says quietly. I want to lunge at him and rip him apart.

"How could you?" I say shakily. "If you are with Jeanine, then I hate you. You are nothing to me. You advocate what she is doing to me. You chose this… this evil. You are nothing to me anymore."

"It's not that easy Beatrice. Everything isn't cut and dry, good and evil. Sometimes you have to see beyond that. Determining what is evil depends on where you stand."

"No Caleb, no matter where I stand, I will always think that mind controlling an entire faction to kill another is evil. Forcing people to do your will instead of compromising is wrong," I say.

"You'll never understand," he says.

"No, I'll never understand how you allowed your sister to be used as a test subject. How you stood by and watched me get poked and prodded until Jeanine decides she is done with me and executes me." I stop for a moment, then whisper, "Get out. I never want to see you again."

"Beatrice," he says pleadingly.

I turn my back to him and refuse to answer him. I can feel the tears building, but I won't let him see them fall. I will never let him see me vulnerable again.

"Beatrice, please," he pleads again.

"Get. Out. Now."

He turns and closes the door behind him. I collapse onto the bed and bury my face in the pillow and cry myself back to sleep.

XXX

I wake to the sound of the door opening. In front of me stands a tall, handsome guy with olive skin and dark hair and friendly eyes. His eyes are always full of mischief and happiness. But today he looks worn and sad when he sees me.

I smile at my friend. It is so good to see a friendly face standing in front of me, especially after what happened with Caleb.

He walks in with a tray of food and some water. "Jeanine is not ready for you yet. She wants you to eat something," Zeke says.

I stand and walk over to him and take the tray. I mumble so no one else but him can hear, "Is Tobias okay?"

He nods and smiles but doesn't say a word. I know there have to be cameras all over the place around here so I make sure I don't say another word about Tobias. I just ask the question I ask every guard.

"What time is it?"

He looks at his watch, "It is two in the afternoon now."

I nod in appreciation, only about a day and a half before they can rescue me.

He leaves the room and closes the door behind him without another word.

I sit eat my food. The meals in Erudite are perfectly balanced for maximum energy needed to get you to the next meal based on body weight and height. It is a very logical meal.

After I eat I press the button to let them know I'm done and have to use the bathroom.

Zeke returns and I'm happy that it is still him.

"Can I get a shower?" I ask

"Let me get you some clothes and a towel and I'll take you to the ladies room."

He closes the door and return about five minutes later with a towel, soap, shampoo, brush, and clean clothes. He leads me to the ladies room where there is a shower.

"I'll be waiting just outside the door," he says.

I enter and get undressed so that I can shower. I stand under the shower and let the hot water beat on my exhausted body. The simulations are taking a lot out of me. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up.

After what seems like a long time, I turn the water off, dry off, and get dressed in the clothes that Zeke brought for me. They surprisingly fit perfectly. I'm sure Erudite had these clothes sitting and waiting for me to request a change. The clothes aren't black or grey; they are all white, like a nurse's uniform.

I leave the bathroom and Zeke takes me back down the hall to my room.

"Someone will be back for you later I'm sure," he says. The he whispers, "I have a message for you, he told me to tell you… 'Be brave, Tris'."

My heart leaps a little and I smile. That message is from Tobias. He really is here. He is in this building somewhere just biding his time until he can rescue me.

Zeke closes the door and I go over to the bed and brush out my hair and braid it down my back. I lie back in the bed and wait for the next time the door opens.

XXX

The next time the door opens Amar stands there and smiles at me.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"It's nine o'clock at night," he says.

"Jeanine still isn't ready for me?"

"She keeps running into difficulties with her serum," he says with a smirk, "for some strange reason."

"What happened to dinner?" I ask.

"She is trying to deprive you to weaken you. She thinks that might help with the serum," Amar explains.

He tosses me a muffin and a bottle of water. "I managed to take this from the food cart without anyone noticing."

"Thank you," I say through a mouthful of muffin.

"He wanted to be the one to come up here, you know. He was not happy that Zeke and I told him it wasn't a good idea," Amar says quietly.

"Do you see him, or are you and Zeke always up here now?"

"We stay up here. We want to be close for when the reinforcements arrive. We are also attempting to gain access to her computers without her noticing. Zeke has managed to cause problems with her serums, but we haven't gotten to her computers yet."

He pauses and watches me for a minute, "Well, rest Tris. You will need it."

I finish my water and hand him the bottle before he turns to leave. I lie back on the bed and stare at the ceiling. Even though I have been sleeping a lot, the simulations are wearing me down. Soon I feel myself drifting off.

XXX

I am shaken awake harshly. I spring up from the bed, and rub the sleep from my eyes, searching for who is waking me. Tobias is standing by my bed looking worried. He is wearing the Dauntless traitor jacket that he took. His face is bruised and his lip is bleeding.

"What happened to you?" I ask.

"Let's go. We have to get out of here, now."

"What? But…" I trail off.

"Look, we have to go now," he says harshly. He doesn't sound quite right. Something is wrong here. "I can't explain things here."

I stand quickly and pull him into a hug. He hugs be tightly and releases quickly. He grabs my arm harshly and drags me out the door.

"Reinforcements will be here soon. Let's go!"

"Wait, where are the others?"

"No time," he says.

He leads me down the hall and there is no one around to stop us. We enter the next hall and there are Dauntless guards there. Tobias fires and hits them both in the head. We continue down the next hall. He pulls me so fast that I stumble and fall. I twist my ankle. He pulls me up roughly and continues to pull me hard and fast behind him.

I can't help but stop and think this isn't right. This isn't Tobias. He wouldn't be so rough with me. But I continue behind him as fast as I can, trying to ignore the pain in my ankle that now feels like it is twice the size it should be.

We reach an exit door and he releases my hand to shove it open. We keep running down the stairs. I try desperately to keep up with him in spite of the pain. I'm gasping for air so I grab him to try to keep up with him.

When we reach the bottom, he starts toward the exit door but I hold tight. "Hold on," I gasp. "I can't breathe. Got to catch my breath and there is something wrong with my ankle."

He looks at me emotionless, "We have to go."

I look into his eyes. And although they are the right color, they don't show the love and emotion that I usually see when he looks into my eyes.

"No," I say. "We can't go anywhere. This is a simulation."

"Tris, what are you talking about. It's me, of course this isn't a simulation. Didn't I tell you that I would come for you? Don't you think I would know it if I was in a simulation?"

"No, you wouldn't. You aren't in a simulation. You are the simulation."

I have to get myself out of here now. What did I do in my fear landscape to escape? I was able to make weapons appear when I wanted them. I will a gun to appear on the floor. I pick it up and hold it to my head and pull the trigger.

XXX

I wake to coming at me from across the room. She grabs the gun from Caleb and points it at my head.

"How do you do that? Tell me what clues you in? Tell me or I'll kill you," she screams in fury.

I sit up and look at her calmly, "I'm not telling you anything."

She lowers the gun and gives me a stern look, "You will tell me or I will cause you so much pain and anguish, you will never be able to recover."

I lunge at her from the chair and punch her hard in the face. While she is stunned, I kick her in the ribs and rake my fingernails down her face, drawing blood and I dig my nails into her skin.

Amar comes behind me and drags me from her. "You will never beat me. No serum you create will ever control me." I try to go after her again, but Amar holds tight to my arms.

Amar drags me from the room and back down the hall. I start laughing hysterically as we walk down the hall.

"Although that was amazing, I'm not sure that was the best idea," he says.

"She will never break me, but I broke her."

He takes me back to my cell and opens the door.

"Try to get some rest Tris," he says. "It's now six in the morning. Just a few more hours before the reinforcements come. We have to try to survive until then."

I nod and enter the room. He closes the door, and I'm alone again.


	56. Chapter 56

I own nothing!

Chapter 56

Tobias

I wake in the morning, we have been here for three days now. Zeke and Amar have been in the upper levels of the compound guarding Tris for the past few days. I have not seen them, so I have no idea how she is holding up or what is going on up there. It is making me crazy not knowing.

Today is the day that the Dauntless and factionless will be here to storm the compound. Uriah, Bud, and I have a lot of preparations to make. Will's sister has arrived and is hiding out until the bowels of the compound waiting until they attack. She will help us to capture and kill the evil Erudite and Dauntless traitors.

I make my way into the Erudite control room to monitor the computers. I was able to impress a couple Erudite with my computer knowledge on the first day so they started giving me shifts in the control room. When I enter I am not alone, so I cannot do anything out of the ordinary. But as soon as they leave, I am able to start a sequence of commands in the computer that will disable the monitoring system throughout the building in three hours. This will give the insurgents that are arriving the ability enter the premises and allow the rest of us to be able to infiltrate Jeanine's office and lab without being seen.

I wish I could just get a glimpse of Tris, even through the monitors, but the area where she is being contained is not monitored through this room. I can only figure that there is another control room in Jeanine's personal area that monitors those cameras.

I complete my task just in time for Uriah to come get me.

"Four, let's go. We have to be ready. What took you so long?"

I didn't realize, but I was in there for an hour. I was so hard at work trying to make sure that all of the cameras and computer systems would all shut down simultaneously that I wasn't paying attention to the time. I stand and leave with Uriah without explanation. We head down to the bowels of the compound to where Cara is hiding out waiting patiently to take over Erudite when Jeanine is killed.

We enter the room and she stands and looks at us expectantly. "Well, how did it go?" she asks me.

"The cameras and computers will all shut down in exactly one hour and fifty-six minutes," I say looking at my watch.

"Good, then I'll come upstairs once everything has started and you have taken care of Jeanine. Once she is gone, I'll declare myself leader since I am still technically next in line," Cara says.

"Then you will name all of the Erudite that assisted Jeanine in her quest to gain complete control over all of the factions," I say.

"Yes, of course. Will explained that if Erudite wants all of its medical, agricultural, and other advances back, all of the people who assisted Jeanine will have to be terminated."

"Very good. We need to return to the upstairs before anyone gets suspicious. We have to look just as panicked as everyone else does when the computers and cameras stop working," Uriah says.

We turn and leave Cara to wait alone in the basement.

"Do you really think she is better than Jeanine?" Uriah asks.

"I'm not sure. She could be a threat, but I'm trusting Will to know his sister well enough to determine if she is evil or not," I say.

"Oh, that reminds me. We just go word from Zeke while you were up there. Tris has had a visitor up there."

I look at him expectantly, "Who?"

"Her brother. He is working with Jeanine. He is helping with the serums that Jeanine is creating to break Tris down."

This news infuriates me horribly. How could her own brother sit back and watch as his sister is tortured through simulations? I will get him before this is over. I'll take care of him myself, especially if anything happens to her.

XXX

We reach the upper levels of the compound and go to the Dauntless sleeping quarters. Just as we reach the room Zeke comes barreling into the room looking distressed. I know something must be wrong because he has been staying up where Tris is being held to keep her safe.

"Four, we have to talk. Follow me outside," Zeke says.

I look at Uriah and Bud and we all follow him out. Whatever he has to say, he doesn't want anyone else to hear and he doesn't want it caught on any cameras. Once we are outside and about two blocks from Erudite headquarters, he stops, turns, and begins to talk. His eyes show worry and terror.

"They are going to put her to death in an hour," Zeke says.

"Wait… What?" I say panicked. "Why? I though they weren't done with her yet. Why are they suddenly putting her to death?"

"She managed to make Jeanine look ridiculous because she keeps outsmarting the simulations. This last one Jeanine thought for sure that she had finally come up with a simulation that Tris couldn't beat. But Tris had no problem getting out of it. She was only under for about five minutes," Zeke pauses for a moment. "Jeanine was furious and pulled a gun on Tris. The moment Jeanine's guard was down Tris attacked her. Tris broke her nose, tore gouges down her face with her nails, and possibly broke a rib or two with a couple well placed kicks. So now Jeanine has scheduled for her to be put to death in an hour."

"Well, we have to get back there and get her out of there!" I say frantically.

"Actually, Amar and I have a plan. See we were planning on switching out the death serum for a serum that causes temporary paralysis. We will just have to change the color of the paralysis serum so it looks the same as the death serum. The thing is, one of you will have to shut down the incinerator and wait for us there. That will be our escape route. The other two should stay and make sure everything goes off as planned for the attack."

"I'll shut down the incinerator. I need to see her and make sure she is okay," I say.

"Amar and I figured you would say that. Amar is going to stay back and try to get into Jeanine's computer system while we are escaping with Tris. He is working on the paralysis serum and the heart monitor now. Everything should be ready."

"What time is she scheduled for death?"

"She is scheduled for death at nine in the morning."

"What time did she go through her last simulation?"

"Amar returned her to her cell at six this morning. Jeanine immediately went into her office with Tris' brother and several other Erudite. They apparently were debating over what to do about her. Jeanine decided that she could find another Divergent and she didn't need Tris any longer."

I nod and turn back to the building. "I have to go and work on that incinerator if I want to be ready. We only have forty-five minutes now." I pause for a moment then look at Zeke, "Give her the message again. Tell her to be brave for me. It should give her some hope that she will be saved. That we will get her out of this.

Zeke nods in agreement and I turn and start to run.

I sprint back and move quickly down into the maze of rooms and storage beneath the building to where the incinerator is located. It takes some time but I figure out how to shut it down. I look at my watch, only ten minutes before they inject her with the serum. Hopefully Zeke and Amar are able to pull this off without anyone noticing.


	57. Chapter 57

I own nothing!

Chapter 57

Tris

I sit in my cell. Only a few more hours before reinforcements will be here. I lie on my bed and try to wait patiently. I don't think Jeanine will be coming for me for anymore simulations anytime in the very near future.

The door opens unexpectedly and Amar stands there in front of me with a sullen look on his face. His eyes are droopy and he looks so stressed that he looks ten years older than he is.

I sit up and look at him expectantly. I don't smile because I can tell that there is something horribly wrong. My hands begin to shake in anticipation for what he is here to tell me.

"Tris, I've come to get you. Jeanine has decided that you are no longer needed. She has sentenced you to death for the attack. You will be put to death in ten minutes."

I drop to my knees and bury my face in my hands. What have I done? I shouldn't have attacked her. I may have ruined the entire attack on Erudite with my selfish behavior.

Amar enters the room and takes my arm to help me stand. He leads me down the hall toward Jeanine's lab. Standing outside the lab is Zeke. He has the same grim look that Amar has. He looks at me sadly and takes me from Amar.

Zeke leads me into the lab with Amar close behind. He has me lie on the silver metal table and begins to attach probes to my head and chest to monitor my heart and brain activity. This is how they will know when I am officially dead.

Once he is done with the probes, he leans in and whispers in my ear, "Be brave, Tris."

I know, just like last time, that it is a message from Tobias. He is telling me to have hope. Maybe something will go wrong.

Zeke stands up straight and looks at me sadly. He stands next to the table and doesn't make eye contact with me again. Tears start to form in my eyes when I see Jeanine and Caleb enter the room. Amar holds a vial of purple serum in his hands ready to pass it over to Jeanine on command.

I look at Caleb, but he never looks in my direction. He keeps his eyes focused on the computer monitors that are showing my heart beats and brainwave activity.

The tears stream down my cheeks. "Caleb!" I yell at him.

He looks in my direction but doesn't make eye contact.

"Caleb, look at me. How could you? I'm your sister. We have always been there for each other, looked out for each other. What happened to you?"

He doesn't respond. He purses his lips and returns his eyes to the monitor without ever looking at me.

"You are nothing but a coward," I growl at him keeping my voice low and fierce. "I'm glad mom and dad are dead. At least they will never have to see what you have become. You can never hurt them like you have hurt me. I hate you. I hope you remember for the rest of your life that my last words to you were 'I hate you'. I will never forgive you. I hope you rot in hell for your evilness."

I can see his eyes becoming watery and his lips are pressed tightly together, but his gaze on the computer monitors never falters.

"Guard, serum please," Jeanine says gesturing toward Amar. He hands her the serum and returns to the door. Jeanine continues, "Beatrice Prior, you have been sentenced to death for being a Divergent rebel. Do you have any last words before your sentence is carried out?"

I say nothing. I look straight at the ceiling and lie completely still. I will not give her the satisfaction of begging for my life or trying to convince her that I'm sorry for attacking her. I will embrace death, just as my parents did. But I don't want to die, I want to survive. I want to see Tobias one last time. Tears stream down the sides of my face and into my hair.

She steps forward with the serum in her hand and immediately injects it into my neck. "This should only take a few moments." I hear her say. She sounds so far away, like a dream.

I can hear the monitors on the computer screen begin to slow steadily. Then the heart monitor begins a steady beep, indicating my heart has stopped. My head flops to the side, my eyes wide open. I can still see, and hear everything that is going on. But the monitor says my heart has stopped. Then there are other funny sounds from the monitor and I hear someone say, "Brain dead."

I can't move, my heart has supposedly stopped, and I'm supposed to be brain dead. Yet I can see, hear, and feel everything that is going on around me. I'm terrified and want to scream out and tell them that I'm still alive, but I can't. I can't do anything but lay here.

"Wheel her to the autopsy room. I want to cut into her brain and see if I can figure out what is was about her that made her immune to all of my serums."

The table that I am on begins to move steadily out of the room and down the hall. Then it suddenly picks up pace, like the person pushing it is running down the hall. We stop abruptly and he picks me up with ease and we enter the elevators. It's Zeke. He doesn't say anything to me for a long time. Does he know that I'm still alive or is he just attempting to take my body so that Jeanine can't experiment on me?

I try to will my body to move so I can let him know somehow that I'm not dead. That I'm still here.

We are on the elevator for what seems like a long time. When we exit, he runs with me through a series of corridors. He stops abruptly and I hear the most loving voice I've ever heard.

"What is wrong with her?" Tobias says.

"The paralysis serum hasn't worn off yet, she should be coming out of it at any moment," Zeke says.

"Give her to me," Tobias says.

He takes me from Zeke's arms and holds me tightly to his chest. He kisses me on my forehead. I want to wrap my arms around him. Pull him to me and never let him go again. He whispers in my ear, "I love you, Tris. Come back to me."

"Come on Four, we have to go now."

I hear a door open and we are running through more corridors. Soon we have made it outside and I am starting to be able to move my limbs again. I turn my head up so that I can look at Tobias. He must feel my movement because he looks down at me and smiles. "We are almost out of there, Tris. We will be safe soon."

We run through the city streets to an abandoned building a few blocks away. We rush into the building just in time. They must have discovered that Zeke and I have disappeared, because there are Dauntless guards running through the streets outside the building. Tobias carries me into a room and sits me down on the floor and sits with me.

He looks into my eyes, "Are you okay?"

I smile and nod, "I'm fine now that I'm with you."

He leans in and kisses me passionately.

Zeke comes and sits next to me also. I wrap my arms around his neck and hug tightly. "Thank you so much for saving my life," I tell him.

He smiles, "You are like my little sister, there is no way I would ever let anything happen to you." He hugs me back.

This comment makes me start to cry again. How is it that this guy that I only met a couple months ago can consider me like a sister and protect me with his life and my own brother was content to help the woman that tried to kill me.

"Tris, I know it is hard. But you will be okay soon," Tobias says.

"It's not that. I was just thinking about what Zeke said about me being like his sister and protecting me with his life when my own flesh and blood brother was the one that helped try to kill me."

The tears continue to fall and Tobias pulls me into a hug. When he releases, Zeke move in and hugs me again. "I'll be your brother from now on! Not just me, but Uriah too. We will both be your brothers now."

"And I'll be your family now," Tobias says kissing me on my forehead.

I smile. The feelings of loss from the death and betrayal of my real family are suddenly made slightly better by the realization that I still have a family. A family that loves me, not out of obligation, but because they choose to. It makes the loss of my parents a little more bearable.

I turn to Zeke, "What happened?" I ask. I can't help but want to know what happened and how he saved me.

"After you attacked Jeanine, she decided that it wouldn't be logical to keep you around any longer. You were too much of a liability. She told Amar and me to prepare the death serum and the lab for your execution. We decided that this would be the best way to get you out of there. So Amar got a paralysis serum and changed the color to match the death serum while I prepared the monitors to make you look like you died," Zeke explains.

"How did you know to be waiting?" I turn and ask Tobias.

"Zeke came to me and told me what was happening. I turned off the incinerator and waited for you two to come down into the basement so we could escape."

"What about Uriah, Bud, and Amar?" I ask.

"Amar is attempting to destroy Jeanine's personal computers and her lab. He already managed to completely destroy her entire stock of serums. She had a room stockpiled with serums to control people. He 'accidently' set it on fire," Zeke says.

"Uriah and Bud are staying there to make sure the computer systems and cameras shut down when they are supposed to," Tobias continues. "A few hours ago I sent a virus through the system that will cause all of the computers and cameras in the building to shut down."

"Didn't Will already send a virus through their computers?" I ask.

"Yes, he did. But we are dealing with Erudite. Many of them had already repaired their computers and Will didn't take out the cameras when he did it. This new will virus will cause every computer in the compound to overheat and catch on fire. That is what Amar is attempting to do in Jeanine's lab. Upload this virus into her main computer. It should trickle down to the others and cause them all to overheat and catch fire. Her lab should be completely devastated."

Zeke stands and looks at us, "The reinforcements should be here soon. Are you up for crushing Erudite Tris?"

I nod and smile, "Never more ready than I am now."

We walk out of our hiding place and see that no one is in the streets outside this building.

We walk slowly outside. We hide in the shadows heading back to Erudite headquarters. Suddenly someone come up behind us and grabs my arm.

It's Christina and Marlene, they smile and both pull me into a hug. Susan, Brian, Felicia, and Mike are with them. Susan and Felicia come to hug me when Christina and Marlene release me. "We thought we would lose you," Susan sobs.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask.

"We are all here, the Dauntless and factionless. We are all surrounding the compound, ready to attack on command."

"Where are Tori and Harrison?" Zeke asks.

Marlene points, "Come on, we'll take you guys over there."


	58. Chapter 58

I own nothing!

Chapter 58

Tobias

Marlene leads us to where Tori, Harrison, Will, Evelyn, and Edward are hiding. They are discussing the best way to get inside.

The all look up at us and an obvious look of relief passes over Tori and Harrison.

I turn to Will, "Cara is in the basement hiding until it is time for her to come out and claim her place as Erudite's leader."

"Maybe I should make my way in there now so I can keep her safe," Will says.

"I think it would be best if you stayed with us until we all go in. You can make your way immediately to the elevators and go down to the basement when we get in there. If you try now, you may not make it. There are a lot of things going down right now that should disorient the entire faction," I explain.

"What do you mean?" Evelyn asks.

"Well," I say looking at my watch. "Right about now all of the computers in the control room should be over heating and catching fire. And if Amar was successful and didn't get caught, all of Jeanine's computers should be doing the same thing in her lab. This will cause a trickledown effect causing all of the computers in the compound to stop working. Without the mainframe to keep them working properly, they will be worthless. Also all of the cameras will be shutting down in a matter of a minute and a half."

Will nods, "Impressive computer work. How did you get so close to be able to do that?"

"The first night we were here, Zeke and Amar got themselves assigned to be Tris' guards. I overheard one of the Erudite having a computer problem that I was able to tell him how to fix. He was so impressed with my computer skills. He invited me to work in the control room."

"Impressive indeed," Harrison says.

I look to my watch again, "Cameras should be down."

Just as I say this, a group of people start to evacuate the building. They are coughing and gasping for air. Then a billow of smoke erupts from the front doors. I see Uriah running out of the building helping Bud to walk. I leave the group that is hiding and run to them.

"What happened?" I ask.

Uriah smiles and whispers, "I think your plan worked a little better than you anticipated. All of the computers are down and the control room was on fire. It has been put out, but the smoke from the burning wires has filled the lobby area. The upper and lower floors are fine."

"Follow me, but try not to be noticed," I say.

We make our way back to the others by making a couple trips down the wrong streets. When we get there, Tori take Bud from Uriah.

"I'm fine, just got overcome by the smoke," Bud says. He looks up and sees Tris, he smiles and reaches for her. "Tris, I was so worried about you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Bud," she says as she wraps her arms around him and pulls him into a hug.

"What do we do now?" Edward speaks up.

"I believe this is better than we could have expected," Harrison says. With these people outside, they can be easily captured and held until we get in there and take out Jeanine. What floor is her office and lab area?"

"The fifteenth floor," Zeke says.

Tori turns to Evelyn, "Send out the call to some of the factionless and Dauntless to surround this group and take them prisoner."

Evelyn reaches for what appears to be a walkie talkie, something they used to use years ago to communicate. She gives them specific instructions about who is supposed to go and what they are supposed to do.

From where we are we can see the guns and people come out of hiding and quickly surround the crowd. There are about thirty Dauntless traitors there who are quickly disarmed and herded with the Erudite to an abandoned building where they are held.

"Now," Tori instructs, "send the rest in to surround the building we are going in."

Evelyn again gives specific directions to whoever is listening and they all begin to surround the building, guns trained on every exit. We all begin to join the ranks of the Dauntless and factionless to surround the building.

"Tobias," Tris says with a worried sound in her voice. "I'm unarmed. What am I supposed to do?"

Zeke looks at her when she says this. I hadn't been paying attention either. Zeke runs to one of the factionless that disarmed the previous group and commands him to give up one of the guns. Reluctantly the factionless man gave Zeke a gun which Zeke returns and gives his gun to Tris. "I'll take the factionless gun, just in case there is something wrong with it," he says.

Tris smiles and we join the group surrounding the building.

Tori sends out a command, "First group enter."

Zeke, Uriah, Tris and I all look at her. Tori smiles, "We are first group. Let's go!"

We enter the lobby. Most of the smoke has dissipated, but not all of it. It is still a smoky enough to make it difficult to see clearly. Will and Christina go straight for the elevators and ride them down to the basement to find Cara, the rest of us take the other elevator up to the fifteenth floor.

We enter this level and we can hear a struggle. Zeke immediately takes off toward the sound. Then I suddenly realize that one of the voices we hear belongs to Amar.

We follow him down the hall to a set of double wooden doors. "This is Jeanine's office and the only way to gain access to the lab and the rest of the floor," Zeke explains.

He shoves open the door to see Amar lying on the floor bleeding. Caleb stands over him with a gun in his hand and Jeanine stands behind her desk, her face mangled from Tris' attack. She is nursing a bullet wound to the shoulder.

Zeke and I both train our guns on Caleb's head while Tris, Tori, and Uriah point theirs at Jeanine. Harrison rushes over to Amar to assess the damage.

"Give up, Caleb," I shout at him. "Drop the weapon."

Caleb looks at me astonished like he can't believe I'm here. Behind us the doors burst open and a group of what seems to be Dauntless traitors enter the room. Caleb smiles smugly, "I think it will be you who drops the weapons."

I dare to glance behind me and notice that these are traitor Dauntless but there is a very big problem, none of them are armed. He spoke too soon because just after the traitors enter, Mike, Brian, Susan, and Felicia all enter each holding two guns. They had disarmed the traitors and led them into the room with the rest of us.

"No Caleb, it is you who are mistaken. Drop. Your. Weapon."

Caleb raises his gun to shoot but someone else fires and Caleb drops to the floor, gunshot in his thigh.

I look around and realize that Tris was the one that fired at Caleb. He rolls around the floor writhing in pain. Tears begin to buildup in her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks. She returns her attention to Jeanine.

"Give up Jeanine and step down. I didn't hesitate to shoot my own brother, do you think I'll think twice about shooting you?" Tris asks.

Jeanine looks at Tris smugly, "What do you think you have accomplished here little girl? Do you think you saved us? You didn't, all you did was contaminate our perfect world with lies and the unknown. No one will ever survive if we open the gates to what is out there."

"Yeah?" Tori says. "Well at least we are free to live our lives, making our own choices. We won't be controlled and those that are Divergent will no longer live in fear of being killed for being different."

Tori fires her gun, hitting Jeanine in the forehead. Jeanine's body jerks back and hits the wall behind her before she falls to the floor. Her brilliant brain, dead on impact.

The other Erudite in the room who had been helping her create the simulations for Tris begin to beg for mercy. We all open fire on them, killing them all. We had decided a long time ago that everyone involved in the creation of the controlling serums would be put to death immediately.

I turn to Tris, "What do you want to do about Caleb?"

"I don't know, but I can't be the one to kill him. In spite of what he did to me, I can't do it," she begins to sob and buries her face in my chest.

I turn to Harrison who is still kneeling over Amar. Zeke walks over, "Is he?"

Harrison shakes his head, "I don't know. If we can get him some help, maybe. This shot is pretty bad though."

Will, Christina, and Cara all enter the room at that moment and looks at Amar laying on the ground bleeding. Will pushes Cara toward him, "Help him, please."

Cara kneels down and starts spouting out orders. "Someone go get a doctor and bring them up here. We don't have much time."

Mike and Brian rush out of the room.

Will and Christina walk over to us, "The Dauntless traitors have all been captured. They are being held in the lobby by gunpoint. Most of the factionless have been relieved of their guns. We found out that they were instructed to try to take our guns away from us to overpower us. It's a good thing that Four never actually trusted them or who know what might have happened."

Mike and Brian enter with the doctor and he gets to work trying to help him.

"Cara, we need to get you downstairs so you can claim your leadership role among your faction," Tori instructs.

We escort Cara down the elevator. Harrison, Susan, and Felicia stay to help the doctor work on Amar.

When we reach the lobby, there is fighting going on. Factionless are trying to get weapons away from the Dauntless and Evelyn is shouting and leading the onslaught.

I move quickly behind Evelyn and Tris follows, I place my gun on the back of Evelyn's head while Tris does the same to Edward. Neither of them moves, they both stand rigid waiting to see what happens.

"Drop the weapons or I'll shoot you right in the head," Tris instructs.

"You won't shoot us," Evelyn says and Edward snickers. "You are Abnegation through and through, you won't do it. You aren't brutal enough."

"Nice theory," Tris says. "But I just shot my own brother and watched him bleed all over Jeanine's office. I have no ties to either of you. Do you really think I'll think twice about shooting you?"

Edwards suddenly tries to turn on her, but she fires and hits him right in the head.

I lean into Evelyn, "You might want to reconsider dropping your weapon. Tell your people to pull back."

Evelyn does as instructed and the factionless pull back. "Now tell them that they are done here. They can return to Abnegation."

She follows my directions and turns toward me, "Tobias, I'm your mother. I thought…"

I don't let her finish, "My mother died when I was nine years old. You aren't my mother." I pause then continue, "Leave now, or I'll make sure you can't come back this time. You will need to clear the factionless out of Abnegation. I'm sure the ones that are in Amity will want to return to their homes." If they decide to allow you to return that is up to their leaders to decide."


	59. Chapter 59

I own nothing!

Chapter 59

Tris

Erudite has been crushed. All of the evilness of Jeanine Matthew's experiments with mind control were shattered when Amar managed to upload the virus into Jeanine's personal computer.

We found out that it was Jeanine, not Caleb that shot Amar. He was not able to be saved unfortunately, the bullet had caused too much harm and he bled out before they were able to repair the damage. The doctors said surgery may not have worked anyway, the injury was too extensive.

Caleb survived the bullet to his thigh, but will be put on trial for crimes against humanity. I expect that he will get a death sentence, especially when Zeke testifies that Caleb was Jeanine's right hand man.

The traitor Dauntless were immediately put on trial by the Dauntless and executed in Erudite. Cara allowed the Dauntless leaders to use the death serum that Jeanine had tried to use on me. The traitors were immediately disposed of, their bodies cremated and turned back into the earth.

Cara identified and imprisoned the Erudite traitors along with Caleb. They will be put on trial at some point in the near future.

Will returned all of the information that he stole during his first attack, even though he also made it a point to send all of this information to all of the factions, just in case of a future problem. But now the Erudite that are left will have the ability to rebuild their computer systems and continue to experiment on all the things that they did to make everyone's lives better.

Marcus and the other Abnegation return to their homes. Most of the factionless had moved out, but some remained at the request of the Abnegation that were there. The leaders will have to decide what they are going to do about the factionless that are still there. Most of the leaders and the heads of government were killed in the attack, so Harrison had traveled to Abnegation to discuss the formation of a new government with representatives from each faction and the factionless.

It was decided that the factionless wouldn't be welcomed back into any of the other five factions, but they were given the opportunity to create a new faction. They would have equal voice in government and their jobs would be in construction and demolition. They would be responsible for fixing roads, demolishing old buildings and rebuilding new ones.

The rest of us returned to Dauntless, tired and demoralized by everything that happened. We all mourned over the loss of Amar and gave him a proper funeral upon our return. His ashes were spread in the chasm, which is what Zeke and Uriah said that he would have wanted.

It has been three days since Amar's funeral and things seem to be getting back to normal. Right now, the Abnegation that are still here don't know what is going to happen next. Most of them have returned, but six of us still remain. Susan, Felicia, Mike, Brian, Tobias, and I are all still here. We all feel like we aren't really Abnegation any longer. We have all grown beyond just being selfless and floating through life. We are all more active in wanting to help people and make a difference. It is still selfless, but with a little fire mixed in.

Tobias told me that Amar had offered to allow us to say, but with him gone, we don't know if that offer still stands. If it does, we have all decided to stay. We return to our apartments, unsure about what is going to happen and what to do next. We wait for someone to determine if we have to go back or if we can stay. Zeke once told me that we were made honorary members of Dauntless, I hope that still stands.

XXX

Early the next morning there is a knock on the door. Tobias gets up and answers the door, it's Zeke. I get up and go to the door of the bedroom so I can see and hear their conversation.

"You two have to get up, there is a meeting in the cafeteria about what is going to happen next," Zeke says.

Tobias doesn't answer he simply nods his head and closes the door. I look at him and see the same nervous feeling that I have reflected back on his face. He comes up to me and takes my hand. We walk back into the bedroom and begin to get ready. I gather my clothes and enter the bathroom to get dressed while he gets dressed in the bedroom. We both wear the standard black clothes of the Dauntless. I brush my hair and place it in a ponytail. We exit our apartment hand in hand, realizing that this could be the last time we are there.

We meet Susan, Felicia, Mike, and Brian in the hall just outside of the cafeteria. They all look nervous and worried about what is going to happen. I want to comfort them and tell them that it is going to be okay, but I can't I just don't know and I don't want to give false hope.

"Zeke said to wait out here," Brian explains.

Felicia asks, "Do you really think they will send us back after all of this? After all of our training and hard work? After we helped take down the Erudite?"

"I don't know," I say. I shake my head, I just don't know what else to say.

The doors open and Zeke stands in front of us and beckons for us to follow him into the cafeteria. He leads us to the front of the room.

All of the Dauntless are here, but since so many were put to death as traitors, only about half of the cafeteria is full.

We stand in the front of the room with Zeke, Tori, Harrison, and Bud. Bud was made a leader when we returned.

Tori speaks up, "We are here to decide what to do about this group in front of us. They have trained with us, fought with us, and proven their bravery in the most extreme way possible. They are all Abnegation born, but I think we can all agree that they are Dauntless at heart."

Harrison speaks next, "We are here to take a vote as a faction. It is not the leaders' sole responsibility to make this decision, we will decide as a faction how to handle this unprecedented situation."

"I would like to make a motion," Zeke yells. "I move to allow these six people to become Dauntless effective immediately."

"I second that motion," Bud chimes in.

"All in favor?" Harrison yells.

The room erupts in shouts and pounding on the tables.

When the room calms, Harrison yells, "All opposed?"

There is not a sound.

"It's unanimous," Tori says. She turns to us, "It is now your choice. I will say your name and you tell us what your decision is."

"Susan?"

"Stay!" Susan says firmly.

"Felicia?"

"Stay."

"Brian?"

"I'm staying."

"Michael?"

"Staying also."

"Tris?"

"I'm definitely staying," I say firmly.

"Four?"

"I'm also staying."

"Okay, our next order of business. We need to know what jobs you would like. Felicia and Susan, you have both been nurses in the infirmary, are those jobs that you would like to continue?" Harrison asks.

"Yes," they say in unison."

"Brian and Mike, you were guards here in the compound. Those aren't typical jobs in the compound because we don't usually have prisoners of war here, but there are openings in the kitchens, tattoo parlor, the control room, and in the weapons shop," Harrison explains.

"I'd like to work in the kitchen," Brian says. I think about when we were back in initiation in Abnegation, he always did seem to like cooking duties.

"I'd like to work in the weapons shop," Mike says. I figured he would stay far away from the kitchen. The one time he helped me cook dinner, he had to get taken to the infirmary because he tried to take a hot pan out of the oven without an oven mit."

"Tris, you are next. What job would you like?"

I think about this for a while. I have always loved to draw when I was alone. I even used to hide a notebook with pictures in it under my mattress. I know I can't be a nurse it's just not my thing. And the control room is out also. I know nothing about computers. I would love to work with Tori and Bud, they are like surrogate parents for me now.

"I'd like the tattoo parlor," I say.

"Four, what about you?"

"Control room," he says.

Tori speaks again, "Now to our final order of business. Four has been an honorary leader speaking for the Abnegation since he arrived with us in Candor. We currently have four leaders, we need to have a fifth. The four of us believe that he has proven himself as a natural leader, leading us in the war against Erudite. We move to have Four continue his role as leader."

Uriah stands, "I second that."

"All in favor?" Zeke yells.

The Dauntless erupt in shouts and pounding on the tables.

"All opposed?"

A couple people make grunts, but nowhere near the majority.

"Motion passed," Zeke turns to Tobias. "Four do you accept the role as Dauntless leader?"

He pauses for a moment, "Yes, I accept."

The room erupts in shouts of approval.

"Meeting is over! Time to eat!" Harrison yells.

"YES!" Uriah shouts, "Bring on the Dauntless cake!"

Everyone laughs. Bud keeps our little group huddled together for a moment.

"I have one final word," Bud says quietly to just the group of us. "We will need for Brian, Mike, Felicia, and Susan to come with us. We need for you four to go through your fear landscape. Every Dauntless has to go through in order to become full members. I think it's only fair that you four go through also."

"What about Tris and Four?" Felicia asks.

"They have already gone through theirs," Zeke says. "That is how Four got his nickname, remember. He only has four fears. Less than anyone in Dauntless history. And Tris went through hers also, she only has seven."

"What is average?" Brian asks.

"Between ten and fifteen is average," Zeke explains.

The crowd around us begins to celebrate and eat while the five leaders and the rest of us head up to the fear landscape. I didn't have to go, but I wanted to be supportive.

We enter the fear landscape room, Tobias and Zeke go to the computers and get things set up. Harrison comes in with four vials of the serum. Bud and Tori wire themselves so that they can see their fears. They didn't do that with Tobias and me, we refused to let them watch while we went through. They aren't giving the others that choice. But not all of them are going to watch, it seems that Tobias and Zeke have decided to observe with me.

We sit in the observation room and watch as each of them go through their fear landscape. We don't talk much, just sit and watch occasionally making speculations about what a fear might be.

Susan had twelve fears, Felicia had fifteen, Brian had eleven, and Michael had fourteen.

"Now, one last thing for you four," Harrison says. "We want to get you out of the dorms and into your own apartments."

They all smile, they have been in the dorms since we arrived. Whereas Tobias and I have had our apartment since then.

He hands them all sets of keys. "Your apartments are all on the first floor above the Pit. You can go to the dorms and collect your things and go to your apartments. There will be extra points added to your accounts so that you can buy the things you need for your apartment."

He turns to us, "And you two, if you want you can move to one of the larger apartments that are set aside for the leaders."

He leads us to where the leaders' apartments are located. He shows us in. This apartment is twice the size of the one we are in now. It is almost as big as my house in Abnegation.

Tobias looks at me, "Well, it's up to you. What do you think?"

"I don't know. It is huge compared to our other apartment," I know I have a huge smile on my face but my selfless tendencies don't allow me to say that I want this. Tobias knows this though and just smiles.

He turns to Harrison, "We will take it."

I hug him and rush off to our old apartment to pack the small amount of things that we have. He stays back with the other leaders, I guess they have things to talk about.


	60. Chapter 60

I own nothing!

Chapter 60

Tobias

Tris runs off to gather our things from our old apartment and I turn around and follow Harrison back to the office where Tori is sitting talking to Zeke and Bud.

"It is time to discuss what we are going to do about the information that we received that started all of this mess," Tori says.

"Are we going to request to open the gates so people can go out beyond the gates and explore? Or are we going to ignore that information?" Harrison asks.

Bud says, "I really think we need to focus on rebuilding our own lives before we worry about some stranger's life somewhere out there."

"I agree," Zeke says. "Dauntless is now about half the size that it once was. We can't very well go exploring and leave whoever wants to stay. They will be vulnerable to another attack."

"I really think we need to discuss what we are going to do with this information with the other factions. This is something that is going to have to be brought up in a government meeting between the leaders of all of the factions. We cannot be too hasty though, Zeke is right, we can't leave ourselves vulnerable," I say.

"Our first government meeting has been set for one week from today. It was decided that it would be best to allow people to settle into their new roles in their factions," Harrison explains.

"Do we all go to these meetings or do we send a representative?" Bud asks.

"Each factions is currently sending a representative. There may be meetings that all leaders will need to be present, but for now we are working with one representative per faction," Harrison explains.

"Is it safe to assume that representative is you, Harrison?" Zeke asks.

"I attended the last meeting, but if one of you wants it, I'll gladly step down."

No one speaks up. Harrison smirks, "I really didn't think any of you would volunteer for it, so I just decided to do it. It really doesn't matter to me though."

"What other business do we have here? As much as I like hanging with you, I want to go check out my new pad," Zeke says.

We all smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure Tris could use my help moving things from our old apartment to the new one," I say.

"All right, all right," Tori says. She looks to Harrison and Bud and smirks, "How did we get two teenage boys for leaders?"

"Hey, we are good leaders, but we also have partying and girls on our minds," Zeke snickers. "Besides, we still haven't eaten yet. You pulled us up here before we could eat or do anything else."

Bud laughs, "Will you two go already? Get out of here!"

Zeke and I rise and leave the office and head down the hall to our apartments.

XXX

I go into our new apartment and Tris already has everything from the other apartment sitting here ready to be put away. I look around, this room is twice the size of our old one. It consisted of a kitchen area that had a tiny stove, sink, and refrigerator, a sitting area with a couch, and a bedroom. The bedroom was the biggest area of them all. It had a full size bed, two dressers and a walk in closet and off of the bedroom was a full size bathroom with a shower.

This apartment has a living room with a couch, loveseat, and a television, a kitchen that is big enough for a table, and a large bedroom set up very much like the last one but with a queen size bed.

I walk through the apartment looking for her. In the old one, you couldn't hide. There were only so many places you could be. Here, there are so many more rooms.

"Tris," I call out then stop and listen. I hear sobbing coming from the bedroom. I walk into the room and Tris is lying on the bed, her face buried in a pillow. I rush over to her and pull her into me. "Tris, what's wrong?" She buries her face in my chest now and continues to sob uncontrollably. I sit with her and rub her back and hair to try to calm her down.

"Tris, tell me what's wrong." Her sobs break my heart. She has been through so much in the past few weeks. I don't know how she has held it together for this long.

She looks into my eyes. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying.

"M… my par…" she says through sobs. "My parents are… are… gone. My brother…" She starts crying again and can't get it out. I pull her tighter into me and wrap my arms around her.

"Tris, I'm so sorry," is all I say. I realize that she never really had the chance to mourn her parents. They died and there was so much going on that she didn't mourn their deaths.

"I'm alone, my family is gone," she manages to say through her sobs.

"You aren't alone. I'm here," I tell her.

She pulls back and looks at me and smiles through her tears.

"Tris, your parents loved you. That love never leaves you," I tell her.

I pull her back into a hug, "I'm so sorry about Caleb. I know I haven't said anything about it yet, but I just wanted you to know that I am sorry."

"How could he do that to me?" she asks, her voice muffled by my shirt.

"I don't know Tris. But you aren't alone. You have me, Bud, Tori, Harrison, Zeke, and Uriah. We are here for you and none of us would ever let anything happen to you."

She nods her head and buries her face in my chest. "I just want to know why he did that to me. What could possibly seem logical about any of it?" she says.

I shake my head. I have no words of comfort for this situation. He brother betrayed her, he tried to kill her.

She hugs me tightly and I can feel her tremble a little. She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. "I just don't know how he could betray me like that. I don't understand how he could possibly think that betraying our parents and trying to kill me could possibly be good for anything."

"I don't know Tris. All I can think of is that he was not the person that you thought he was. You can't beat yourself up trying to understand him."

"I know, but I think I want to go to Erudite and see him one last time before his trial."

"We can do that. I will contact Cara and make arrangements," I tell her.

She hugs me tightly, "I love you so much, Tobias. I don't know what I would do without you."

I take her hand and play with the ring on her finger. She looks down at our hands and smiles. "You will never be without me," I tell her. "You are stuck with me forever."

She leans in and kisses me.

"What happened that got you so upset?" I ask.

"My ring," she says. "I was just admiring it and I realized that my parents will never see me get married. They won't be there to stand up for me and give their blessing."

The tears start again.

"But your father already gave his blessing, Tris. He gave his blessing when I told him I wanted to marry you some day. And when he stood up for me to Marcus and claimed me as his son. He gave his blessing. It was one of the last things he did," I say. "He was happy that you found someone that you love and that loves you back."

She climbs into my lap and hugs me tightly.

"Thank you," she whispers.

I look around the room. All of our things clothes are in bags lying on the floor.

"How did you do all of this on your own?" I ask.

"I didn't, Christina and Will helped. They were coming out of their apartment when I was starting to drag things down the hall," she says wiping away her tears.

"So, I have the rest of the day. What would you like to do?"

"Well, I'd like to start by putting all of these clothes away. Then we need to make the bed so that we don't have a bare mattress sitting here."

"Okay, but what about after that. I think we could really use some down time," I say with a pout.

"Well, after that I think we should just lay here and watch movies for the rest of the day," she smiles and kisses me. "What was your meeting about?"

"Basically, what we are going to do next. We have all of this information that there is an outside world. There are other people out there that may need our help. But we have to be strong enough to take care of ourselves first before we can help anyone else."

"But aren't you even curious about what is out there? Who is out there?" she asks.

"Of course I am. But I don't want to put myself or anyone else into a situation that could be dangerous. I think we have had enough danger for at least a little while."

"Yeah, you are probably right," she says.

"So, why don't I put these clothes away and you make the bed," I say.

She smiles, "Okay."

We get to work. When I look over at her I can still see tears trace down her cheeks but she just continues to work on the task in front of her. I have to admire her perseverance and bravery. She is being faced with life without her family and she is trying to confront it head on.

We finish with our tasks and agree to go to the cafeteria to get some food. We get our food and sit with our friends. Bud comes in and sits down next to Tris. She smiles at him and her tears start to fall again.

"Tris, what's wrong?" Bud asks.

She shakes her head as if saying that she doesn't want to talk about it. Bud looks to me questioningly.

"She is just having a rough time today," I explain.

He nods understanding. He pulls her into a hug and she breaks down again.

"I'm sorry, this is not like me. I'm not usually so emotional," she says.

"Can you and Four come with me?" Bud asks.

We nod and stand with him. He takes Tris by the hand and leads us toward the tattoo parlor.

When we get there, Tori is sitting there alone working on something. She looks up at us, "Hey guys, what are you doing here?"

"Tris is having a hard time with the loss of her parents," Bud explains.

Tori stands and pulls Tris into her arms. Bud walk into the back of the parlor and retrieves a book. He comes back out and hands it to Tris.

"Open it to page seven," he says.

Tris opens the book. It is a book of tattoos. She flips to page seven like instructed. On this page is an image of a tattoo on someone's arm. It is a black and white tattoo with roses that vine up the arm. It is quite beautiful.

"This was your mother's first tattoo," Bud explains. "No one else in Dauntless has ever had that exact tattoo. I drew it for her when we were fourteen."

She smiles and runs her fingers across the image. "Would you give it to me?" she asks.

Bud smiles, "It would be my pleasure. Where would you like it?"

She points to the side of her rib cage. "I want it run from my hip to the here," she says gesturing to the space just under where her bra strap would be located. "I want it to take up my entire side."

She goes to the back and removes her shirt to reveal the sports bra that she is wearing underneath. She keeps herself covered but her entire abdomen and side is visible so that Bud can begin to draw the image on to her.

"This tattoo will remind you of your mother," Bud says.

I sit with her and hold her hand as the tattoo needle permanently imprints the image on her skin.

When she is done, she goes to the mirror and looks at the beautiful new artwork that covers her tiny frame. She smiles and hugs Bud. "Thank you so much, I love it," she says. This is the first time for the past few hours that she has been even remotely happy.

"They say that tattoos can be a cathartic experience and can heal many wounds," Bud explains.

"You will have something of your mother's on you for the rest of your life," Tori says.

She hugs Tori and thanks them both for everything. We go back to our apartment and spend the rest of our day watching movies and just being together.


	61. Chapter 61

I own nothing!

Chapter 61

Tris

Zeke, Uriah, Will, Christina, Tobias, and I jump on a train that is headed into the city. Tobias contacted Cara, Erudite leader, and set up a meeting between Caleb and me so we are on our way to Erudite. Even though I know Jeanine is dead and Cara isn't currently attempting to control the masses with simulations, I'm still terrified to walk into this place.

We jump from the train and begin our walk across the city to Erudite headquarters. I hold onto Tobias' hand tightly as we near the compound. He skims his thumb across the palm of my hand to try to sooth me, but my nerves are on high alert right now. I don't know what I'm going to see when I look at Caleb. Will I see my brother that I loved my whole life, or will I see the monster that he has become?

We enter the building and are greeted by Cara and a few other Erudite that she has appointed to various jobs within the compound. She approaches Will and Christina and pulls them both into hugs.

"I'm so glad to see you two again. I've been so worried since we all parted," Cara says.

"We are fine," Will says smiling. "I have been working hard to get Dauntless' computer systems back up and running properly and Christina has been working in the clothing store. We are just trying to get things back to normal."

Cara smiles at her brother and pulls him into another hug, "We have also been working to get our computer systems back up and running. That last virus really threw us for a loop." She looks toward Tobias and smiles, "You are pretty good at creating viruses that cause a lot of damage."

"Sorry," he says sheepishly. "I just wanted to make sure we were able accomplish our goals without Jeanine finding out."

"Well, the virus on her computer caused it to have a complete meltdown. That computer and the information that was on it are gone forever," she says almost regretfully.

"Well, that was the idea. No one can use her evil plans now," Tobias explains.

Cara turns her attention to me now, "Are you ready to see Caleb?"

"Honestly, no. But I guess it is now or never."

I smile and turn to Tobias, "Will you be coming with me?"

"If you want me to come with you, absolutely. I wasn't sure if you wanted me there or not," he says quietly.

"I can't do this without you," I say.

He smiles and looks to Cara, "She's ready."

Cara turns to the man standing behind her. He is in his mid twenties with red hair and bright green eyes. He is very thin and frail looking. He looks like if the wind blew too hard that he would get blown away. "Ferdinand, will you take them to the conference room by the holding cells? Caleb has already been brought there and is waiting."

He nods, I look to Tobias and we start walking. Uriah and Zeke follow behind. I turn to look at them. "We are going to. We will stand outside the door, but we are going to be there for you," Uriah says.

I take my hand from Tobias' for a moment and pull them both into a hug. "You two are the best. Thank you so much."

"That's what family is for, Tris. We love you and will always be here for you," Zeke whispers into my ear.

Uriah kisses my cheek and smiles, "Alright little _sis_, let's go."

I smile and turn back to Tobias, he smiles at me and I take his hand back in mine. We follow Ferdinand into the elevators. He pushes the button for the appropriate floor and we ascend to the floor where Erudite houses their criminals awaiting trial.

Ferdinand turns to Tobias and asks, "Where did you get such a destructive computer virus?"

"It was my own design. I created it specifically to wipe out an entire compound's computer systems," Tobias explains.

"What would possess you to create something so damaging? Why would you want to take out a faction like that?"

"I really didn't want to have to use it. I created it because I don't trust any of the factions completely and wanted to make sure that if someone ever tried to take over everything, I would be able to stop them."

Ferdinand nods, "It is quite impressive. Especially for someone that grew up in Abnegation and didn't have the kind of computer programming instruction that we receive here."

Tobias nods in appreciation and we exit the elevator and follow Ferdinand down a maze of corridors and stop outside of a solid white door.

He turns and looks at me, "Your brother is inside. He is handcuffed to the chair, so he won't be able to stand. Please take however much time you need," Then he turns to Uriah and Zeke, "I'll be just down the hall. Please let me know if you need anything and when you are ready to go."

We all thank him and he retreats down the hall and disappears behind a door.

I reach my hand to the door and push it open. I enter the room followed by Tobias. Zeke and Uriah stay outside and wait for us. The door closes behind us and I stare in disbelief at the man sitting in the chair in front of me. It's definitely Caleb, but his eyes are cold and uncaring. He looks like it is an inconvenience for him to be sitting here, like he has more important business to attend to and I'm just some annoying meeting he must attend.

I stand and stare at him while he looks from me to Tobias and glares. "What is _he_ doing here?" Caleb asks.

"He is here with me," I say.

"Why?"

"This is my fiancé, Caleb," I lift my hand and show him my dazzling ring.

I walk toward the table and sit in the chair across from him. Tobias remains standing behind me with his hand on my shoulder.

He snickers. It's a cold and unfeeling sound and it sends chills down my spine. I must shiver because Tobias tightens his grip on my shoulder slightly, letting me know that he is there. I can't understand what has happened to the boy that was always the perfect Abnegation. What happened to the boy who was so selfless that he made me feel like I was never good enough?

He often made me feel that way. Always scolding me for asking questions and talking out of turn. Did he do it on purpose? Was I mistaken about the bond that I thought we had as brother and sister?

I stare at the boy sitting in front of me and suddenly he isn't the familiar face that he is supposed to be. He looks cold and calculating. He is cruel and harsh. He isn't my brother. He is the robot of Jeanine Matthews. He is hollow, heartless machine of a sadistic mass murderer who killed and enslaved hundreds of people.

"What happened to you," I whisper almost unintelligibly.

"Nothing happened to me. I am the same person that I always was. I was just a good actor. I played the good son and doting brother very well." He bows his head dramatically, taking credit for is wonderful performance.

"You betrayed everyone that ever cared for you, for this?" I ask gesturing around me. "I loved you, Mom and Dad loved you, Susan loved you."

"You were never anything to me. You were the annoying little sister that couldn't behave and couldn't keep your mouth shut. You were never Abnegation. And now they think you are some kind of special Divergent? Please. You just aren't good enough for any faction. You should have let me finish things when I could."

He jerks his body toward me like he wants to attack. This causes Tobias to step forward and knock him and his chair over.

The loud thud makes Uriah and Zeke open the door to make sure everything is okay. They look from me to Tobias as he steps around the table and easily picks them both up. Zeke smirks and Uriah watches Tobias. He has a hard, furious look on his face. His muscles in his arms and neck are taught. He leans into Caleb's face and glares at him. "You won't gesture to her like that again. Do you understand me?" Tobias growls. His tone frightens even me.

Caleb looks terrified but doesn't respond. His body trembles and he doesn't make eye contact with Tobias for longer than a moment. Tobias stays in this position for what seems like a long time. Then he stands and looks to the open door. He steps back around the table and makes eye contact with Uriah and Zeke and smirks a little. They smirk back and close the door again. Tobias comes back behind me and touches his hand to my shoulder again.

We are silent for a long time. I stare at this person that looks like my brother, but this isn't him. This is a stranger that tried to kill me. My brother must have died a long time ago, if he ever really truly existed.

"You were the most important man in my life other than our father. I looked to you for comfort and friendship. But that wasn't you. I don't know you. My brother is dead." I stand and move closer to Tobias, "Enjoy your execution. I no longer have any regrets when it comes to you. The son my parents thought they had died long before they died. I'm just glad they aren't around to see what you have become. I hope you rot in hell, you bastard."

I turn toward the door and Caleb screams at me, "You little bitch…" That is all he is able to say before Tobias is in his face again. He swings and knocks Caleb out with one punch to the side of his head. Zeke and Uriah open the door again just in time to see Tobias knock him out. The scream must have caught their attention.

I look from Tobias to Caleb in shock. Zeke is smiling again, "Dude, you have anger issues." Tobias smiles and returns to my side.

"No one is going to act like that to my fiancé. I don't care who he thinks he is."

As we walk down the hall back toward the door that Ferdinand disappeared through, I begin to feel a little lighter. That was not the Caleb that I knew. The one I knew may have been phony but at least I have that memory of a good brother. I no longer feel guilty knowing that he is going to be put to death. The boy sitting in that room is just another Erudite monster created by Jeanine. At least that is what I'll keep telling myself. I don't want to believe that he was that evil all on his own. I have to believe that he was corrupted.

We stop at Ferdinand's door and he is already standing there waiting. He has a shocked look on his face. He must have been watching through a security camera.

"Sorry I knocked him out," Tobias says.

Ferdinand just shakes his head, "Well, nothing I could do about it even if I wanted to. Do you need escorted back to the lobby?"

"No, we'll be fine," Uriah answers. "Thanks."

We turn toward the elevators and descend to the lobby.

XXX

When we get back to the Dauntless compound, I feel slightly lighter than I have. I know now that nothing that I did could have changed what happened with Caleb. I'm not sure if he was just a really good actor or if he just changed once he got to Erudite. Either way, he isn't the brother that I once had. That brother is long gone and there is nothing that I can do about it.

As we make our way to the cafeteria and sit down, I look around. I have a great family sitting around me. Wonderful friends in Christina, Marlene, Susan, and Felicia, honorary brothers in Uriah and Zeke and the man I love sitting with me. Then Tori, Harrison, and Bud come in. They are also like family. These people aren't with me because they have to be, they want to be with me. They want to protect me and let me protect them.

Bud sits next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder. "How was your visit?" he asks cautiously.

"I found out that the boy I thought was my brother died a long time ago. That boy that was there wasn't my brother."

He nods, "Sometimes that happens. Sometimes people aren't who we thought they were."

I nod and smile. "This is my family," I say gesturing around me.

"How's the tattoo healing?" Bud asks.

"You got a new tattoo?" Christina asks. "Can I see it?"

I look to Tobias and he smiles and nods. "Go ahead Tris," he says encouragingly. He understand how self-conscious I am about my body.

I lift my shirt up so my entire side and abdomen is showing. Everyone looks at me and I suddenly feel very uncomfortable.

"It's beautiful, Tris," Susan says.

"Where did you ever come up with such a beautiful design?" Christina asks. "I've never seen that in any of the sketches I've looked at."

"Bud drew this for my mother when they were kids. This was her first tattoo. She was the only one to ever have this tattoo, until now."

I lower my shirt and sit back down. Bud pulls me into a hug. It is nice having Bud and Tori around since they both knew my parents when they were kids. It's like I still have a piece of both of them that I can talk to and bond with.

We finish eating our dinner. Tobias and I retire to our room for the night. It was a very emotionally exhausting day. I'm glad it's over.

**I think we are nearing the end of this story. Maybe a few more chapters to tie up some loose ends. Hope you are all still with me and enjoying my story. **


	62. Chapter 62

I own nothing!

Chapter 62

Tobias

I wake the next morning before Tris. I decide to go down to the Pit and get some food so that I can make us breakfast for the first time in our new kitchen. While I'm out I realize that we don't have any pots or pans, plates, silverware, or anything else I would need to actually make breakfast. I had wanted this to be a quick and easy trip, but that isn't going to happen.

So instead I decide to go to the cafeteria and grab a couple muffins, orange juice, toast, and coffee for the two of us. I rush back up to our apartment with our breakfast. When I enter the room, I set everything up on the kitchen table and go back into the bedroom. When the door opens she is sitting up looking a little worried, but the worry vanishes when I enter the room.

"What's wrong," I ask sitting on the bed next to her.

"I woke up and you were gone. No note or anything. I guess I just got a little worried," she says.

I kiss her on the cheek, "There is nothing for you to worry about. I was going to make us breakfast, but then I realized that we don't have anything to cook in, eat out of, or eat with. So I went to the cafeteria and got us some food."

She pulls be into the bed with her and kisses me deeply. "Thank you for being so wonderful."

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her to my body. I love how her body feels next to mine. She is wearing a tight black sports bra and a pair of shorts. She is supposed to sleep without covering up the tattoo. I run my fingers across her bare skin. I can feel the goose bumps rising on her skin. She pulls back a little but then deepens the kiss once more.

He hands find my skin under my shirt. She lifts it up and off of me. She looks at my shoulder and bicep. "When did you get that?" she asks gesturing to my tattoo.

"Oh, I forgot. The night you left. When I came back I went to the tattoo parlor to talk to Amar, Tori, and Bud. While we were talking I got inspired and got another tattoo."

She looks over my chest shoulder and bicep. She runs her fingertips over the dove on my chest and to the raven on my bicep.

"You have combined both of our tattoos into one. It is beautiful," she says.

"After you left, I just wanted to make sure I had something of yours on me permanently. I love you. I was so worried that I would lose you."

She pulls close to me, "I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere ever again."

She rolls herself on top of me and lays her head on my chest, just over my heart. My hand skims the new ink on her side and I can feel the goose bumps returning. She looks up at me and kisses me on my neck, just under my jaw. She squirms her body up on mine; the movement of her body on mine sends my senses into over drive. Everything about her drives my body crazy. She moves so we are face to face. I take her face in my hands and lean up and kiss her. First on her nose, then her cheeks, chin, then her mouth.

She skims her hands across my chest and the feeling sends a thrill though my body. I roll her over and am lying between her legs on top of her. I trail kisses down her neck and to her collar bone. She shivers under my touch and I pull back and look at her. She smiles at me.

"Maybe we should stop," I say.

She shakes her head, "No, don't stop."

"Tris, if we don't this may go further than you want it to. I don't want to push you into anything you aren't ready for."

She wraps her legs around my waist and pulls my body into her. I'm shocked for a moment but then she wraps her hands around my neck and pulls me into a deep kiss. I kiss her back with enthusiasm. She traces her hands down from my neck and over my chest. The feel of her hands on my skin sends a thrill though me. Her hands move across my sides and to my back. She tightens her legs around my waist and pulls me closer to her.

I can't help myself any longer. I allow my hand to find the side of her breast. I move my hand slowly across her breast and I caress her gently. The idea that I am touching a part of her that I have never dared touch before makes my body quake with desire. I slide my fingers under the elastic of her bra and come in contact with her bare breast. Her skin is soft and warm against my calloused hand.

He body stiffens and I pull back and look at her. "We should stop."

"But I don't want to," she whispers.

She pulls me into her and kisses me with more passion than she has ever kissed me. Her hands move up my sides and into my hair, deepening the kiss even more.

I pull back from her enough to look her in the eyes. "You tell me to stop, and I'll stop immediately," I tell her.

She nods and smiles. Then she does something completely unexpected. She reaches down and rips the sports bra from her, revealing her bare chest. I keep my eyes on hers trying to read her thoughts and desires. She takes my hand in hers and guides it back to her breast.

I sit up on my knees bringing her up with me, her legs still wrapped around my waist. I pull her body close to mine. I love the feel of her bare chest against mine. We continue to kiss and caress each other, holding on to each other like if we loosen the grip one of us will disappear.

I run my hands down her sides and over her thighs. She pulls back from the kiss and she looks at me, her eyes wide. There is a little fear in there. Something in me tells me to end this now before it goes too far. I kiss her on her nose. I don't say a word, but I lay her back onto the bed and she releases her legs from my waist. I move off of her and lie in the bed next to her.

She looks at me and smiles, "I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too," I say kissing her forehead. "Are you hungry? The coffee is probably cold by now, but I'm sure everything else is just fine."

"Do we have to eat it in the kitchen?" she asks.

"No, I'll go get it."

"Okay, I'm going to go hop in the shower."

I walk from the bedroom and into the kitchen. I gather the food and orange juices and bring them back into the bedroom with me. I set all of the food up on the bed. Then I drag the television into the bedroom and start a movie that we can watch in bed.

Today is our last day of freedom before we both officially start our new jobs, even though I have been working in the control room daily since we arrived in Dauntless three months ago. I told Zeke I wasn't coming in today so I could spend it with Tris. She starts in the tattoo parlor tomorrow. I think it will be good for her to be around Bud and Tori every day. They help her get through the loss of her parents better than anyone else possibly could.

She leaves the bathroom, hair glistening from the shower water. She has on one of my T-shirts and a pair of shorts. She looks up and sees me looking at her and she smiles. "What did you bring for us again?"

"Muffins, toast, and orange juice. The coffee is cold."

She hops into the bed next to me and I press play on the remote. The movie begins playing as we eat our breakfast.

"Don't you have to work today?" she asks when she sees the movie has started.

"No, I took the day off so I could spend it with you. I think we've spent enough time apart. I wanted one last day to spend with you before you start working at the tattoo parlor and I go back to the control room and begin my duties as a Dauntless leader."

"Yeah, our lives are probably going to get pretty hectic," she smiles and takes a bite of her muffin.

After we finish our breakfast we lie back in the bed, she lays her head on my shoulder and we watch the movie.

We spend the rest of our day like this. Eating our meals in bed, watching movies, and cuddling together. It's the perfect day.

**Holy cow 20000 views? That is amazing. I can't believe that my story is being read by so many people. Thanks and make sure to tell me what you think.**


	63. Chapter 63

I own nothing!

Chapter 63

Tris

I wake in the morning and I am wrapped in Tobias' muscular arms.

Yesterday was a perfect day. We stayed in bed all day, eating and watching movies and just being together.

I lie here and just look at him sleeping. He looks so much younger when he sleeps, he looks his age. I can't believe this handsome man wants to be with me. He could have almost any girl in Dauntless and yet he wants me.

I glance over at the clock and see that it is seven thirty in the morning. I have to be at work my nine but I don't know when he is supposed to be in the control room or if he has a meeting at any point with the other leaders.

I kiss his cheek gently. "Tobias," I say.

"hmmm," he grunts.

"What time do you have to be at work today? It is seven thirty in the morning."

He opens his eyes reluctantly, "I'm supposed to meet with the others at eight. I better get up."

I kiss him again and move off of him. He gets up and heads to the bathroom for a shower. While he is in there, I throw on some pants and shoes run to the cafeteria and grab a couple muffins and two coffees. I hurry back to the apartment so that I can give him breakfast before he has to leave.

When I reenter the room he is already out of the shower and getting dressed. I bring the muffins and coffee into the bedroom and pull him over to the bed.

"Eat," I say handing him a muffin and a coffee.

He smiles and kisses me before taking a bite of the muffin.

"What time are you done working today?" he asks.

"Well we close up at lunch time, so I'll be able to have lunch with you if you have time and then my shift is over at four in the afternoon."

"We should be able to have lunch. Tori and Bud are both going to be training you today. They both wanted to be there. I have the meeting in…" he looks at the clock and stands taking his last bite of his muffin and washing it down with coffee. "In ten minutes. Then I start in the control room for nine." He says all of this as he puts on his shoes and pulls a shirt over his head. He leans in and kisses me, "See you at lunch."

"See you at lunch," I say. And he is gone.

I spend the next hour going through my clothes, trying to find something that I can wear that will show off my tattoos. I decide on a pair of black skinny jeans with holes in them, I crop top that hangs from my shoulders, and my Doc Martens that lace up to my knees. I look in the mirror and pull may hair into a ponytail. I inspect my outfit and can't help but think that I need to let Christina and Marlene do all of my shopping. This isn't too bad. This shirt shows off all of my tattoos, including my new one. The jeans ride low on my hips and make me look like I have more curves than I actually do.

There's a knock on the door. I go to the door and open it to find Christina standing there smiling.

"I knew that outfit would look great on you," she says.

"Hey Christina, what are you doing here?"

"I knew this was your first day in the tattoo parlor and wanted to see if you needed any help getting ready. But it looks like I was almost too late."

"What do you mean almost," I ask a little annoyed. I'm happy with my outfit and I'm not going to allow her to change it.

"You're going out without putting on makeup," she says.

"Well, I don't know how to do that," I say.

She takes my hand and drags me to the bathroom where she says the light is perfect for putting on makeup. She takes the black pencil and lines my eyes. I try to see what she is doing so I can learn, but it is hard. Then she takes the mascara and makes my eyelashes look bold and long. She adds a little blush and lip gloss and turn me to the mirror.

"You know, even with all of that makeup you aren't going to make me pretty," I say.

"Who care about pretty, I'm going for noticeable."

I stare at my reflection in amazement. She smiles, "You are gorgeous, Tris. Do you know that?"

I look at her in amazement. No one has ever told me that except for Tobias. She smiles again. "Your eyes are striking. You have got to learn how to do your eyes at least."

She looks down at her watch, "It's ten minutes before nine, you better get going to the tattoo parlor. You don't want to be late on your first day."

I hug her, "Thanks Chris!"

"My work here is done," she smiles.

We leave my apartment and she walks with me down to the Pit. She leaves and I go into the parlor with only minutes to spare.

XXX

I walk into the parlor and Tori and Bud are sitting there talking, they both smile when I enter. I want to ask them about their meeting this morning and about Tobias, but I don't if he wants to tell me about his meeting he will.

"Well, let's get started," Bud says. "Did you bring your sketch book that I gave you to practice in?"

I nod yes.

"Good," he says opening the book and flipping through the pages. He hands the book over to Tori with a smile. "Now the first thing you have to do is practice with the tattoo gun. It is similar to drawing but it has a different feel than a pencil has."

He brings out a dummy arm and hands me a tattoo gun. I spend the hours leading to lunch drawing images on paper, transferring the images to the skin and then using the tattoo gun to permanently imprint the images on to the fake arm. Bud comes and inspects my works several times throughout the morning. He doesn't really say much, he just nods and walks away.

By lunch I'm tired and my hand is vibrating from the constant buzzing of the tattoo needle. I look at the arm and inspect my work. I have created an image on the entire bicep part of the arm. The tattoo is mostly black and grey with hints of color throughout the image. It is a city landscape with images of death and destruction around the edges. The center of the city is hollowed out, like someone had dug a hole right in the center of the arm, red blood appears to trickle along the edges of the image of ripped and torn skin. In the center of the hole there are images of peace and tranquility. Large eyes float above the city, like they are watching over everything that is happening.

Bud and Tori come over to my station and inspect my completed work.

"Tris, this is amazing," Tori says.

Bud smiles, "I knew you had talent. Your mother would be proud, she was also quite the artist."

I smile and thank them both. The three of us leave the tattoo parlor and go down to the cafeteria.

When I walk in I immediately see Tobias sitting with Zeke, Uriah, and Will. Bud, Tori, and I walk over to the table and I sit down next to Tobias. He places his arm around my shoulders and kisses my cheek.

"Well, how was your morning?" he asks.

Before I even have a chance to speak up, Bud starts gushing about my practice tattoo, "Four, you have to stop by and see this tattoo, it is amazing. She is quite talented."

Tobias looks at me proudly and tightens his grip on my shoulders. "Maybe you could give me a tattoo after lunch?" he asks.

"What? No. What if I mess it up? That was just a fake arm, it wasn't real."

"Let me be the judge of that," Tobias says. "I want to be the first to get a tattoo from you," he whispers in my ear.

I can't help but blush. I often can't believe the amount of faith he has in me. He believes that I can do anything.

He takes my hand under the table and plays with the ring on my finger. I find that he often plays with my ring when we hold hands. Almost as if he is making sure that it is still there, that I'm still his.

We continue to eat our lunch and talk with our friends, and then it is time to go to back to work. Tobias keeps his hand in mine and comes back to the tattoo parlor with me. When he walks to my station, he looks at the fake arm and at my work.

"Tris, this is phenomenal. I didn't know that you could draw like this. Where did you come up with this design?"

"It came to me while I was in Erudite. Every day when Amar or Zeke would walk me to the bathroom they would let me look out the window. I saw the landscape of the city and imagined what it would look like whole. It is quite beautiful. The rest of is just kind of came to me."

"It's a shame that this beautiful artwork is wasted on a fake arm," he says. "Can you give me this tattoo?"

I look at him shocked, "You want me to do something this big on your arm for my first real tattoo?"

He takes my face in his and touches my forehead to his so our eyes meet and are only an inch apart. "Yes, this is the most amazing tattoo I've ever seen. I want to be the first to have something this amazing on my skin that was created by you."

I smile and nod. I prepare my station with everything that I'll need for this tattoo. While I'm doing this, he removes his shirt and reveals the untouched skin on his left bicep.

I begin the same way I did with the fake arm. I place the transferable image onto his skin to give me a template. Then I begin to work. As I do, other ideas come into my mind as I work. I incorporate these images into the artwork that is going onto his arm. Tori comes in and sits on the side of him so she can see the tattoo and talk to him at the same time. Right now I'm not able to talk while I concentrate on the tattoo. I'm afraid to get distracted and mess things up.

Tori watches as the image comes to life on his arm. I manage to make the whole thing look like it is three dimensional. After hours of listening them talk while I work, the tattoo is complete. Tori looks at the image that I've created.

"This is amazing, Tris. It is even better than the original."

This tattoo has the city landscape with the carved skin in the center revealing the images of peace and tranquility in the center but where the carving is I made it look like you could reach inside of his arm and grab at the things inside. The outside shows ripped skin and trickling blood but then it changes from skin to the sides of rounded rocky walls, like when you look into the chasm from above. In the center are images of peace, incorporating a peaceful river flowing through the center. Around the outside there are still images of death in destruction but now they are engulfed in flames that continue up to his shoulder. The flames were inspired by his original tattoo on his back. The eyes looking over the city on the top of the bicep are also engulfed in the flames but they are bright blue showing through the red and orange flames.

I rub the healing salve over his bicep then lead him to the mirror so that he can see the entire image. The salve almost immediately heals the skin and takes away the redness caused by the needle. Erudite really does make some amazing discoveries in medicine.

Tobias looks into the mirror and doesn't say anything for a long time. As he stares at the image in the mirror I start to become worried that he doesn't like it. Then he speaks. "Tris, this is amazing," he says. "I can't believe how good you are at this."

I smile and pull him into a hug.

"Well you two, it is dinner time," Tori says. "And Tris' shift is over."

"Okay," I say. I lead Tobias back to my station so that I can put another layer of the salve on his bicep and cover it with gauze.

Tori walks over to my station and smiles, "Great first day. See you tomorrow morning."

"Thanks Tori, see you tomorrow."

Tobias and I go to the cafeteria. When we enter every one of our friends wants to see his new tattoo. He lifts his sleeve so that the entire thing will be visible. I remove the gauze and he turns so that everyone can see it.

Even in the ten minutes since I put the second coat of salve on it and covered it, it has almost completely healed.

"Tris, you drew this?" Uriah asks.

I nod. "Actually she created parts of this without the template," Tobias says proudly.

"Some if it just kind of came to me while I was doing it, so knowing that Tobias trusted me, I just did it."

"What parts did you just do without the template?" Zeke asks amazed.

"Well, the flames engulfing the outside and the walls of the chasm and the river on the bottom."

"Wow," is all anyone says.

"When do you work next?" Zeke asks.

"Tomorrow," I say.

"I'm coming in tomorrow for a tattoo. Do you have sketches?" he asks.

I hand over my sketch book and everyone crowds around him as he looks through the images. He stops on a page and points, "I want this."

"Well I work nine till four tomorrow," I tell him.

"I'll be there," he said excitedly.

Tobias leans into me and whispers in my ear, "See this is why I insisted on being the first. Now everyone is going to want to occupy my fiancé's time and want her artwork on their skin." He kisses my cheek and smiles proudly at me.


	64. Chapter 64

I own nothing!

Chapter 64

Tobias

"Look Four, we are going to all have to go to this meeting. I know that it could bring up problems for you, but it was decided that all of the leaders needed to meet to decide what we are going to do with the information about the outside world. We need to decide if we are going to allow the gates to be opened and if we are going to allow people to go out and explore what is beyond our fences," Tori says.

It has been four weeks since Harrison's last representative meeting. At that meeting it was decided to give the factions a month to focus on their own people. Erudite was still trying to resolve the issues caused by the virus that I released in their computer systems. They have resolved most of their issues, but not all. The Candor were still trying to decide on what to do about Jack Kang. After he so willingly sent his own people out to be murdered by the Erudite during the war, he was overthrown as their leader. They recently elected a new leader in his place and had Jack put to death. Although Amity didn't fight and only a handful of their people even attempted to help during the war, they still needed time to rearrange their lives since being the home of so many refugees for so long. Abnegation, having only a few dozen true members left, had to deal with the presence of the factionless in their sector of the city. Finally the factionless had to learn their new place in our society. The Abnegation, being forever selfless, have allowed them to stay in the empty homes around their compound temporarily while the factionless build themselves new homes in their sector of the city.

"Don't worry Four. Bud and I will sit on either side of you. He won't be able to do anything," Harrison says.

"You don't understand, it's not him I'm worried about. It is me. If he says something that sets me off, I can't be held responsible for my actions," I explain.

"And if he does, then none of us will hold you back," Zeke says entering the room and sitting next to me. "If he is stupid enough to provoke you after what happened to him the last time he provoked you, then that is his own problem. We aren't going to stop you from defending yourself."

"I can't beat Marcus us during a meeting, Zeke," I say with a snicker.

"Maybe not, but I'm sure you can control yourself long enough to make it through the meeting before you confront him."

I smile, "I suppose. When do we have to go?"

"We take the eight o'clock train tomorrow morning," Tori says.

"Who's going to run the tattoo parlor with both you and Bud gone?" Zeke asks.

"Who do you think?" Bud scoffs. "The best artist and most popular tattoo artist we have in Dauntless of course."

Ever since Zeke and I got our original tattoos from Tris, she has become the most popular tattoo artist in the factions. Even more popular that Bud and Tori, which is quite a feat.

I smile, "Does she know she is being left in charge?"

"Umm…" Bud smirks. "Not yet. We thought it would be best to drop that on her at the last moment."

I laugh, "She isn't going to be happy. She doesn't like being in charge. The last time you did that to her, one of the other employees tried to take advantage of her and not show up for work."

"Yeah, but that was before I spread the rumor about her stabbing Eric in Candor and beating the crap out of Peter during that first battle, and then her carrying Uriah inside to the infirmary by herself. Now people are afraid of her," Zeke says through his smile.

"She was wondering how those stories got out. She thought it was only the few of us that really knew what happened."

"Well, I couldn't let these idiots around here think that she was weak," Zeke says. "She's like my little sister."

I nod in appreciation.

"Anyway," Harrison says. "We need to decide what our stance is on opening the gates."

"I think we should do it. If people want to go exploring, let them," Zeke says.

"I don't know. I am very curious about what and who are out there. I'm just not sure about sending people out to explore not knowing what they are getting themselves into. For all we know they could get beyond Amity and be killed by savages or be forced to bring these people back here and we could face another war that none of us are ready for," I say.

They all nod, "Well the message said where there was an abundance of Divergent that we should open the gates. But we really don't know what the Divergent population is," Tori says.

"That is one of the things that Abnegation was working on before the attack. They were retesting the factionless to see how many Divergent were among them."

"How do you know this?" Bud asks.

"I think we have established that I have a knack for breaking into computer systems and finding the information that I want," I say slyly.

Zeke laughs, "Yeah, you are our own personal computer genius."

"Anyway," Tori says. "Why would they focus on the factionless?"

"They are most likely to have people that couldn't make it through a faction's initiation. Divergent often don't fit into any one faction completely. Look and Tris and me, we were both able to do well in Abnegation but we are also flourishing here in Dauntless."

"Is there any indication about how many Divergent there are among the factionless?" Harrison asks.

"No, they never finished their testing. But according to Evelyn when I talked to her about this, she said that there were a lot. She was trying to track the Divergent, but the Abnegation wouldn't give her any information beyond what she absolutely needed to know."

"Regardless, we still don't know how many and aside from retesting everyone in every faction, there is no way we could find out."

"So what do we do about the gates?" Bud asks.

"I really think we need to focus on rebuilding our faction before we allow too many people to go. Maybe a small group could go and explore and report back. It would probably be best to send a group consisting of one or two people from each faction to go out," I say.

"Yeah, I also don't think that we should just open the gates to whatever is out there. We can let the group out and back in but I think we continue to guard the fences so that no one that doesn't belong here can get in. Only the people of the city will be permitted in and out," Zeke adds.

"Those are really good ideas," Harrison says. "We will have to bring that up in the meeting tomorrow. Who from Dauntless should we send?"

"I think we should only allow people of a certain age to go," Bud says. He knows that Tris wants to know what is out that badly and he doesn't want her to go anywhere. "Say people over the age of thirty with no families of young children."

"That is a good idea also," Tori says. "How are we going to put it out there?"

"We make an announcement after the meeting tomorrow. If it is agreed upon we announce it during dinner that we are looking for two people to make up a team of explorers to go out beyond the fences. We tell them they must meet the specific criteria that we agree on. No arguments, no complaints," Harrison says.

We all agree on this plan and take leave of the conference room. We have been up there for so long that we missed lunch completely and it is already time for dinner.

I walk past the tattoo parlor looking to see if Tris has already left for dinner. Her shift was over thirty-five minutes ago, but she often gets caught up in her work that she doesn't pay attention to the time.

Just as I suspected, she is sitting at her station drawing when I enter. She looks up at me and smiles. "Why are you still here?" I ask her.

"I'm waiting for you. You said you would come by after your meeting. I didn't want to eat dinner without you," she says.

"Who works this evening?"

"I think Tori and Bud work tonight since Frank, Bruce, and I worked the day."

I take her hand in mine and lead her from the parlor. She turns and locks the doors before we head to the cafeteria.

We walk together in silence for a few moments, then I decide to tell her about the meeting tomorrow morning.

"Tris, I will be out of the compound completely tomorrow. There is a meeting for all of the leaders at the Hub tomorrow. We may not return until the following day, depending on what gets accomplished and what time it is."

"What's the meeting about?" she asks.

"We have to discuss what we are going to do about the video and the information that was in it."

"Are you going to open the gates?" she asks with excitement in her eyes.

"I don't know what is going to happen. Every faction is going to have to agree on what is going to be done. This isn't just our decision. This concerns the entire city."

"What do you think about it?"

"Well," I say hesitantly, "I'm not sure we should just open the gates and allow whoever or whatever to stream in and out. We don't know what is out there. They could be savages and want nothing more to kill us. It wouldn't be a good idea to just go out there while we are all weakened from the recent war."

She nods as though she understands. But I know that she wants nothing more than to go out there and explore for herself.

"Do you really think the people out there could be dangerous?"

"Yes I do. Edith Prior said that they had just about annihilated each other with weapons of mass destruction and chemical warfare. We have no idea what happened to those that were left out there when they locked themselves behind this fence."

"I never considered that. I guess I just assumed everyone out there was just like us, just living in another place," she says.

"Yeah, well I have a much more sinister version of what happened to those people. They may not even completely be people in the traditional sense of the word. They could be mutated versions of people who are incapable of being reasoned with or that could look at us like we are dangerous and attack."

Her excitement for the idea of the fence being opened leaves her. She looks terrified as she considers that what I'm saying is a very good possibility.

XXX

We run and jump on to the train when it arrives. I don't think I will ever get over the feeling I get every time I jump on and off of a train. It is so freeing.

We spend the ride to the center of the city in silence, contemplating what is going to happen. I worry about what might be outside of the fence, but I also worry about what might happen if Marcus says something inappropriate to me. He can't be happy that six Abnegation citizens have refused to return and have become full members of Dauntless.

We arrive in the city and one by one jump from the train. We walk together to the Hub talking about the changes that the factionless have already made by demolishing some buildings, fixing others, and rebuilding some. It is amazing what a group of people can do when they are determined to become their own self-sufficient group.

We enter the lobby and are immediately directed to the conference room on the fifteenth floor.

The conference room is spacious enough for all of the leaders from each faction. There are only three left in Abnegation, three in Candor, Amity sent five representatives since there are no actual leaders there. Erudite has five leaders, and the factionless have three. Then of course there are the five of us from Dauntless.

We sit around a large table and wait patiently for someone to begin the meeting. After a few long minutes of silence Bud speaks up.

"We're here to discuss what to do with the information that we received when with the release of the video."

"I think we should set forth some ground rules," Johanna from Amity says. "We don't want everyone talking over one another or screaming at each other so I think we should set the rule that we only talk on at a time."

"We will do our best to be peaceful," Tori says and everyone agrees.

"I guess the first question is," says Marcus, "what do we do with this information?"

"I think we open the gates and allow anyone who wants to go to go," Edward says.

"We don't even know what is out there," I say. "The video said that they had just about annihilated each other with weapons of mass destruction and chemical warfare. We have no idea what happened to those that were left out there when they locked themselves behind this fence. For all we know the people out there could be mutated versions of people who are incapable of being reasoned with or that could look at us like we are dangerous and attack."

Zeke chimes in next, "We can't just open the gates and allow entrance in and out freely. We have to maintain our security within the city. All of the factions are in a weakened state, we can't afford another war that could cause more causalities or the mass destruction of our entire city."

"Who would have thought the Dauntless would be the ones pushing to keep the gates closed. I thought you people were supposed to be brave," someone from Candor says.

I hate the Candor and their smart-mouth attitudes.

"No one ever said we weren't brave, but we are also smart. This isn't about bravery; this is about doing the smart thing. What is the point of sending a large group of people out there into the unknown to possibly be killed?" Harrison says.

"We think we should send out a small scouting group that has to meet specific criteria. The group should consist of two people from each faction," Tori says.

"Why two from each faction and why should there be a specific criteria?" Cara asks.

"People from each faction have different skill sets. They can work together to ensure survival," Zeke says.

"The criterion is because we don't want children and young people going out there. We also don't want people with young children going either. We think it would be best to choose people older than thirty that don't have children. We need to be able to keep our young people safe while we are allowing this exploration," Bud explains.

"I'm in agreement with that," Cara says. "We need to keep those people of childbearing age here where they are safe. Our first priority needs to be repopulating our city, what is out there beyond the gate needs to be secondary to our own needs."

"What if people out there need help," asks one of the Abnegation.

"Our people here need help," one of the Amity responds. "Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves first. We can't go fight someone else's war that we don't know anything about. The scouting group is the best bet."

This conversation continues in the same manner for the next five hours. People ask questions and others responding while others still rebut some of the comments that are made. The conversation gets heated at times but everyone tries to remain as peaceful as possible.

"Let's take a vote," one of Erudite says.

"We will go by faction, each member gets a single vote, but the majority in the faction will rule since we have different numbers of faction leaders," Marcus says. "Let's start with Candor."

The discuss among themselves, "We vote for sending the scouting group."

"Erudite, you're next," Marcus says.

"We also vote for the scouting group," Cara says.

"Factionless next."

"We vote to allow anyone who wants to go the right to go," Evelyn says.

"Dauntless?"

We look at one another, we already know what our answer is going to be. "We vote for the scouting group," I say.

"Amity?"

The five of them sit in hard conversation for fifteen minutes as we all sit and wait for them to come to a decision. This is how things work in Amity, everyone gets an equal say in decisions.

"Amity, please. We'd like to eat sometime today," Zeke says.

Johanna scowls at him, but seems to understand that their usual debate can't happen the same way here. Finally after five more minutes of debate she is able to speak up.

"We vote for the scouting group."

Marcus looks at the Abnegation and they both nod at him, "We also believe that the scouting group is the best way to go."

The factionless suddenly erupt in anger arguing that they want to be able to leave and do what they want without being told what to do.

"Look," I say. "We can't tell you what to do. But if you choose to leave and go against our newly formed government, you will no longer be welcome as part of this government. It is that simple."

"Tobias, you don't have the right…" Marcus starts but I cut him off.

"First of all, my name is Four." I growl. "Second of all I have every right. This is our first meeting as leaders and already they are refusing to work as a single group. They are all about what they want. If they want and equal part in this government, they must be able to work with the rest of us. The majority of this room agrees that a small scouting group is our best bet. If they insist on sending a large group of factionless out there, then they are on their own. We can't help them if something happens to them."

"He is right," Cara says. "We are all welcome to the factionless becoming their own faction and contributing to our city like the rest of us. But that means that they have to make successions when the majority of the factions disagree with what they want to do."

Evelyn scowls, "Fine, we will agree, for now. But I want to know what these criteria are?"

"That is something that we will have to iron out tomorrow. Now it is time for dinner," Marcus says.


	65. Chapter 65

I own nothing!

Chapter 65

Tris

"Tris, let's go!" Christina yells from the living room of my apartment. Since Tobias left this morning and I don't have to work until after lunch, she decided that we were going shopping.

"All right… all right, relax!" I say. "I have to stop by the tattoo parlor and make sure everything is okay. Tori and Bud left me in charge for some ungodly reason."

I hate when they do this to me. There are people that have been there far longer than I have but for some reason, every time they can't be around I get left in charge.

"Fine, but let's go. We are supposed to meet Marlene, Susan, and Felicia in the Pit in fifteen minutes," she says tapping her foot and pointing to her watch. This girl in impatient.

We leave my apartment and walk toward the tattoo parlor. I decided that I'm going to act like I'm showing Christina a new sketch in my book instead of making it seem like I'm checking up on them. I know they are all perfectly capable of handling things themselves, I just want to make sure that I can say that I stopped in the morning before my shift.

I walk through the door and Bruce and Fred both look at me like I'm crazy. "What are you doing here?" Bruce asks.

"I wanted to show Chris a new sketch in my book. She's thinking of a new tattoo."

They both nod like they believe me. "How's it been today? I'm hoping for a quiet night, don't feel like getting slammed," I say trying to be casual. I flip to a page with an image of butterflies and vines and hand it to her.

"It's been pretty slow this morning which usually means a busy night," Fred says.

"Of course, it never fails!" I say exasperated.

"Tris, did you really draw this?" Christina asks.

"Yeah, why?"

"I want this! Can you put it on my rib cage?"

"Sure," I say. "Do you want me to do it now?" Yes, I'm trying to get out of going shopping, but Chris doesn't skip a beat.

"Oh, no way. I'll come back with you after lunch when your shift starts. Now we are going shopping," she says smiling.

I scowl at her then turn to Bruce and Fred and smile. "See you later. Do either of you work after lunch?"

"No, we are both done. I think Steph is working this afternoon," Fred says.

"Oh, okay. Well see ya!"

They both wave as I left. I think they believed that I was just there to show Chris the picture.

"Do you seriously want that tattoo or where you just playing up my story for me?"

"No," she says. "I really want it. I've been thinking about a new and that is perfect. I'm just trying to decide if I want it on my ribcage or my back."

"Well," I say looking at my watch, "you have about three hours to decide. Let's go find the others before I decide that I'm going back home."

She loops her arm with mine and smiles, "You aren't going anywhere but shopping."

We find Marlene, Susan, and Felicia near one of the shops on the second level. Susan is standing there with her arms crossed looking very defensive and shaking her head.

"I'm not going in there," I hear her say as Chris and I approach.

"Come one Susan," Marlene complains. "You aren't Abnegation anymore. Just give it a try. I bet you will look beautiful and Brian will go crazy."

I look into this store and it sells lacy undergarments and very alluring clothing. I shake my head also, "Yeah, I agree with Susan. I don't know about this place."

Chris, who still has her arm linked with mine doesn't give me much of a choice, "Look Tris, remember that awesome crop top you wore a while back? Well that came from here. This store is awesome."

I turn to Susan and smile, "I'll go if you go. You don't have to buy anything, just look." She nods her head and smoothes her hair with her left hand. There is something shiny on her finger. I grab her hand and look at her in amazement.

"Brian proposed?"

The other girls grab her hand and look at the beautiful ring on her finger.

She smiles, "Yeah, last night. We went for a walk by the tracks and were looking at the stars. Next thing I knew he was on one knee and handing me this gorgeous ring."

"Congratulations!" we all say in unison.

"How about you and Mike?" Marlene asks Felicia.

"I don't know. I don't know if he actually likes me or if we are just always together and he has accepted that I'll be his mate. I mean I do kind of like him, but I can't tell if he feels the same way or if he is just being Abnegation."

"I've got an easy way to find out," Marlene says. "I'll throw myself at him. We'll see how he responds."

Felicia shakes her head, "I don't think that will work. He knows that you are with Uriah and he is terrified of Uriah. He won't respond. It won't work with any of you. He knows who you are all with and including Zeke they are the only guys in Dauntless that he is terrified of."

"Why is he afraid of Tobias?" I ask.

"Are you kidding? Four is the one that frightens him the most. Four is extremely intimidating. It got worse when we went through our landscapes and he realized just how big a deal four fears really is. He's actually is intimidated by you too because of your seven fears and eight minute time in your simulation."

I look at her like she is insane. No one is afraid of me. "That is just silly," I say. "No one in their right mind would be afraid of me."

XXX

Three hours later we are walking to the cafeteria for lunch after a long morning of shopping. As much as I hate to admit it, Marlene, Christina, and Felicia managed to find some amazing clothes for Susan and me. They all make me look my age and make me look like I have some curves. And Susan looks incredible in everything that they found for her. They all came back to my apartment and taught Susan and me how to apply makeup and what would look best on us both. Since we have similar complexions and hair color, they were able to show us at the same time.

After shopping we head down to the cafeteria and sit with Uriah, Brian, Mike, and Will. Brian's eyes just about popped out of his face when he saw Susan in the new clothes and with the makeup on. The makeup isn't over done, it looks very natural, but it makes her beauty shine. Susan sits down next to him and he wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her close to him. He whispers something in her ear that makes her blush and smile. I love watching them, they are so sweet.

Felicia sits in the seat next to Mike and I immediately see what she is talking about. He seems to like her, but it is hard to tell. He hasn't let go of the Abnegation in him. I walk over to them and grab Mike's hand. If he is really intimidated by me, he won't try to pull away. I'll use that to my advantage. Felicia give me a confused look and Mike looks like he is going to jump out of his skin at my touch, but I'm being bold and I'm going to figure this out for her.

I drag Mike from the cafeteria without a word.

"Okay, so do you like Felicia or what? We aren't in Abnegation anymore. You don't have to settle."

"Well, I guess I like her," he says.

"No Mike, you either like her and want to have a relationship with or you don't. This isn't Abnegation, you don't have to settle for whoever is closest to you. So what are your feelings? Do you want a relationship with her or not?"

He looks at me and thinks about this for a while. "You mean I have a choice?"

"YES!" I yell a little louder than I really had to but I wanted to make a point. "Of course you have a choice. You have a choice in Abnegation also, but most people just settle for whoever is closest to them. You need to decide if you like her or not."

He smiles, "I do really like her. But I don't know if she likes me. This is all very confusing."

"I suggest you do something to let her know that you like her. Otherwise she is going to move on and find someone who does let her know."

He nods and we turn to go back into the cafeteria. When we get in, Felicia gives me a hopeful look.

Mike returns and sits next to Felicia. He looks nervous and unsure of what to do. We all continue to eat. When we are done, Brian takes Susan by the hand, they say goodbye, and they leave. Uriah and Marlene leave together next, then Christina and Will.

I guess Christina has forgotten about her tattoo, oh well. I'm sure she'll remember at some point.

"Well, I've got to get to work," I say to Mike and Felicia. "I'll see you two later."

As I'm walking out of the cafeteria, Felicia runs up behind me. "Well?" she says.

"He likes you, a lot. He's shy, maybe you should make the first move." She smiles at this, thanks me, and returns to Mike at the table. I leave the cafeteria and hope that one of them will have the nerve to make a move.

When I get to the tattoo parlor, no one is there yet. I unlock the door and begin turning on lights and getting my station ready. I'll need to be prepared, I have a feeling it is going to be a busy afternoon.

Soon Steph and Lars come in.

"Hey Tris, how's it going?" Steph says smiling.

"Good, you both here this afternoon?"

"Yeah," Lars says. "How was the morning?"

"Bruce and Fred said it was very slow, so I'm anticipating a busy shift."

"Better get ready then," Lars says.

He and Steph go and prepare their stations.

Soon the first customer comes in, it's Christina. "Hey Tris, I'm ready for my tattoo. Will and I talked about it, I want it on my thigh."

"Sounds good, go sit in my chair and I'll get everything together."

When I return I see that she is wearing the shortest shorts that I have ever seen. Her entire thigh is showing so this is going to be easy. I apply the template to her skin and begin the tattoo.

Behind me, I hear the bell on the door ring several times, this really is going to be a busy day.

About an hour later, I finish Chris' tattoo and she looks down at it.

"Tris, this is beautiful," she says. I smile and put the healing salve on it and cover it with gauze. We walk together to the front of the shop and I charge her account.

"Thanks, Tris. See you later."

"Bye Chris," I smile.

Then I turn to the group that is standing there, "Okay, who's next?"

It continues this way for the rest of the night. One customer is done and the next is already standing there waiting to be taken. Most of the tattoos were pretty standard, nothing spectacular. My last customer of the night is Mike. He comes in with a huge smile on his face.

"Tris, I did it," he says. "After you left the cafeteria I kissed her. She seemed shocked for a second, but them she kissed back. We spent the rest of the day together."

"That's great Mike, did you want a tattoo?"

"Yes, I've decided that it is time to embrace the Dauntless life."

"Do you know what you want?"

"No, do you have any suggestions?"

"Come back here with me," I say.

I hand him my sketch book and tell him to flip through and look. It's late, but I don't care. I'll let him pick whatever he wants and stay as long as I need to. Since Tobias isn't home, I'll just be going back to an empty apartment.

Lars and Steph come back to my station, "Tris we were going to take off, is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Just lock the door on your way out. I don't want anyone else coming in tonight."

"Okay, see you tomorrow," they say.

"Tris, I could come back tomorrow," Mike says.

"No, that's not necessary. I just don't want any more customers when I'm done with you."

"Okay, well I think I want this."

He chooses tribal dragon design. "This is a good choice," I tell him. "In ancient times it is believed that dragons were responsible for the creation of the earth. They were believed to be protectors and have control over the natural elements."

"Wow, and I just thought it was an interesting design," he says.

"Well, I believe that everyone should know if there is symbolism behind a tattoo that they are choosing. Like my ravens are a symbol of rebirth and change, the dove is a symbol of love and devotion."

"What about the roses?" he asks.

"That is the exact design that my mother got for her first tattoo. My mother was originally Dauntless."

"Wow," he says. "I definitely want the dragon," he says.

I get started and by the time I'm done an hour and a half has passed and I know just about everything I could possibly need to know about Mike. He is head over heels in love with Felicia, but he was too afraid to show it. He never believed he belonged in Abnegation, but his mother was ill and his father had died in an accident several years ago, so he didn't want to leave her. He was an only child. And just like me he lost his mother in the simulation attack.

"Tris, can I walk you to your apartment? I feel bad that I kept you here so late and I don't want to leave you to walk alone."

"I'll be fine, Mike." I don't want him thinking that I'm incapable of walking alone.

"I know that. It's just I would feel better if I walked with you. I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself."

I charge his account and just nod my head. We leave the tattoo parlor and I lock up. We walk in silence to my apartment. When we get there Mike says goodnight and he turns and walks away.

I enter my empty apartment and lock the door behind me. Although I don't want to feel vulnerable, I am. Without Tobias here, I am very vulnerable.

I get ready for bed and lie in our bed, alone.


	66. Chapter 66

I own nothing!

Chapter 66

Tobias

The next day we walk into the meeting and everyone is already there. Evelyn is arguing with Cara about allowing for a bigger group to venture beyond the gate. Edward is arguing with Marcus about the proposed age limit. Johanna is having a polite but heated discussion with one of the Erudite leaders about the need for more food production in Amity.

When we sit the discussions come to an end and Marcus stands.

"We need to discuss the criteria for the group that will be going beyond the gate. Since this was Dauntless' idea, we should allow them to speak first."

"We think that the candidates should be older than thirty, should have no children, and should be proficient in whatever their factions feel is important," Bud says.

"Can we have an example?" Cara asks.

"Well for instance," Harrison begins. "The people from Dauntless should excel with all weapons, should have excellent fighting ability, and should show bravery in their ability to get through their fear landscape."

"So the person from Erudite should have advanced computer skills, intellect, and reasoning skills," Cara says.

"Precisely," I say.

"Is everyone in agreement about the criteria for the people that we will be sending?" Marcus asks.

No one disagrees. I'm surprised that the factionless aren't complaining. Then just when I think we are going to get out of this meeting and get home, Evelyn starts complaining. I knew it was too good to be true.

"My only complaint," Evelyn says, "is that I think it should be up to each individual faction to determine the age of the people that are going, just like it is up to them to decide what criterion is best for the people from their faction."

"That does seem fair," a woman from Candor says. "Who are we to say that the factionless can't send a seventeen year old if they want to."

"It is about taking care of the young people in our factions," Tori says.

"I agree with you," says the same woman from Candor. "All I'm saying is that if they want to send younger people that should be their decision."

"Let's take a vote, all in favor of the factions choosing all of their own criterion, raise your hand," Marcus says.

Everyone around the table, except for the Dauntless and Abnegation raise their hands.

"It seems the motion has passed. Each faction will choose their own criterion, but they must divulge that information before leaving from this meeting," Marcus says. "One final order of business, we need to know when will this expedition begin."

"We believe that we will need at least two weeks to find the appropriate people from Dauntless," Zeke says.

Everyone around the table nods. It seems that two weeks is plenty of time for everyone.

"Fine, two weeks it is," Marcus says. "The representatives from each faction and their group members will meet back her two weeks from tomorrow. Does anyone have anything further for this assembly?"

No one speaks up.

"Very good, we will adjourn for two week when we will rejoin each other here to send out the group. Don't forget to turn in your criterion to me or one of the other Abnegation leaders before returning to your faction. We will make sure that all of the conditions are followed by each faction."

We all stand and all of the factions file out. As I begin to follow Zeke and the other Dauntless leaders from the room, someone grabs me from behind. I turn to find Marcus holding my arm, stopping me from leaving. Zeke looks at me as if asking what he should do. I nod indicating for him to go ahead.

I look at Marcus and glower at him. "Get your hands off of me," I growl.

"What do you think you are doing playing leader with the Dauntless? Don't you think it is time for you and the others to come home?" he says, his voice cold and calculating.

"I am home. I've always belonged in Dauntless. Now get your hands off of me."

Marcus releases me, "At least tell me that you have found a new girlfriend and not that scrawny little girl."

"That girl is going to be my wife. I suggest you have some respect," I snap. "You won't talk about her like that again."

Marcus begins to approach me anger in his eyes. "How dare you talk to your father like this, you need to have some respect."

He raises his hand to strike me, but I drop down to the floor and sweep his legs out from under him. He falls hard to the floor. I quickly stand and approach him. I press my boot to his throat. "I told you, the next time you try to threaten me, I would make you regret it. I could snap your neck if I wanted to. The Dauntless have taught me well, this is the reason that I am one of their leaders. I suggest you forget that I was your son, because believe me, I've forgotten that you were my father. Do not address me by any other name but Four, and do not ever speak a single word about my fiancé. Do you understand me?"

He nod faintly. My boot is still pressed to his throat, making it difficult for him to breathe or move. The door behind me opens and Bud comes in. He takes my arm and makes me look at him. "Four, he isn't worth it. You are better than him."

"Yeah, you're right," I say. I remove my boot from his throat and walk out of the room with Bud behind me telling me that I made the right decision.

XXX

We jump from the train back at the Dauntless compound. The first thing that I want to do is find Tris. It has been two days since I've seen her. We walk into the compound, it is pretty late, Tris will probably be back in the apartment by now. As Zeke and I walk through the Pit toward our apartments, I notice that the light is still on in the tattoo parlor. She is the only one that would still be there.

I walk up to the parlor and see her in there with Mike. It looks like she is finishing up a tattoo on his inner forearm. She covers it and they stand. As they walk to the doors, I hear him ask if he can walk her to the apartment.

"I'll be fine, Mike," she tells him.

"I know that. It's just I would feel better if I walked with you. I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself," he says.

I think I like this kid. He is a gentleman; it is good to know that he is willing to walk with her. I decide to run ahead to the apartment to surprise her.

When I get there I go into the bedroom so she won't see me immediately. I lie on the bed so she will see me when she enters, I don't want to scare her completely.

I hear the door open, "Good night, Mike."

"Good night, Tris. Thanks for the advice on Felicia," he says.

She closes the door and I hear her walking through the living room toward the bedroom. She enters the bedroom and never looks at the bed. Her eyes are downcast. She looks upset. She changes her clothes and I just watch in wonder, I can't believe she is mine.

She turns and faces the bed. She looks sad. Then her eyes light up when she sees me lying on the bed. She squeals and jumps on me.

"When did you get home?" she asks.

"Oh, about five minutes ago. I thought I'd surprise you."

She wraps her arms around my neck and presses her lips to mine. We kiss passionately for a long time.

She rolls off of me and we sit up on the bed so we can talk.

"How was your meeting? Was it horrible?"

"Well, let's just say that Marcus won't be messing with either of us again."

"Oh my, what did you do?" she asks.

"He put his hands on me and threatened me so I knocked him down and tried to choke him to death with my boot. Don't worry though, Bud stopped me."

"Well that's good. What did he say that set you off? It had to be more than just putting his hand on you."

"He doesn't like that we are together."

"Yeah, well he made that perfectly clear back in Abnegation," she says.

"Well it doesn't matter what he thinks. I told him that as far as he is concerned, my name is Four. I told him that I have left that old life behind. To him, Tobias is dead."

"You know I could call you Four if you wanted to really change your name."

"No, I like when you call me by my name. You are the only one at this point that still does. Everyone else calls me Four now. Soon you will be the only one that remembers my name."

She wraps her arms around my neck again and hugs me tightly.

"I'm so glad you're home. I was not looking forward to sleeping alone tonight," she says in my ear.

"You absolutely won't be sleeping alone tonight, or any other night if I can help it." Then I think about last night. "You slept alone last night, what made tonight different."

"Oh, I didn't sleep alone last night. Christina spent the night with me."

"What did you guys do with your morning off?"

"Shopping of course."

"Buy any more of those half shirt things that show off your stomach?" I ask.

"Yeah actually. Christina liked the one I wore a couple days ago and insisted I needed more so I can show off my tattoo," she says.

"I can't wait to see. I didn't get to tell you how much I liked how you looked in that shirt."

She smiles and lies down on the bed. She pulls me down with her and curls up next to me. "I really missed you. I hope you don't have to do that often."

"Yeah," I say though a yawn. "Me too."

Soon we drift off to sleep.


	67. Chapter 67

I own nothing!

Chapter 67

Tris

"We need two volunteers to go out beyond the fence and find out what is out there. We will be sending two people from each faction to work together to find out what is out there and report back," Tori says.

All of Dauntless sits in the cafeteria. The five leaders stand in front of the room on a table so that they can be seen and heard over the noise.

"There are a certain set criteria that the two people will have to possess in order to be considered," Harrison explains. "First, they must both be over thirty. Second, they must not have children. Third, you must excel at the use of guns, knives, and hand to hand combat. And fourth you must have done well in your fear landscape."

The room erupts in complaints, arguing, and yelling. Some people seem to be fine with these criteria, but many seem annoyed.

Tori raises her hands and Tobias bellows for the crowd to stop. Soon they listen to his words and turn their attention back to the leaders.

"Look," Bud says. "We chose the age and family limit because we don't want any children out there and we don't want any children being left without one of their parents. It is important that we rebuild our lives and our compound. We can't do that if we are sending our children out into the unknown. Please try to understand, our first priority is to our faction, not whatever is beyond that fence."

"The way we are going to decide who is going is by a drawing. If you are interested in going and meet the criteria, you may put your name into the drawing. We will choose the two that will be going in three days. Then those two people will train with Four and me for the next week and a half. After that you will travel to the hub with Harrison and begin to prepare with the group," Zeke explains.

"Please keep in mind that you will be expected to work with the other factions, including the factionless. These other factions will have their own criteria to meet along with the typical attitudes that we all find annoying about them," Tobias says. "The two that are chosen must be able to tolerate and work with the other factions so that they get their task completed."

"Please make a line in front of Four and me to signup. If you are under thirty, you can leave now," Zeke says.

They sit down and there are two lines formed in front of them. Uriah, Chris, Will, Marlene, and I all sit at our usual table watching what is going on.

"This makes me so mad," Uriah says. "Why do the people have to be over thirty? That is so stupid. I am just as capable of doing this as any of them."

"You would leave me?" Marlene looks at him hurt.

"This is exactly the reason they made this decision. Because they knew that they would have a bunch of us go and signup for this and they don't want to lose their youngest members," Will says. "If we had it our way, I'm sure all of us would sign up for this."

We all nod in agreement.

After about a half an hour the line begins to die down and we can see Tobias and Zeke again.

Tobias looks up at me and smiles. Then he and Zeke get to work placing the names onto slips of paper and placing them into a big bucket. They seem to have thirty or forty names to prepare. The rest of us decide to go over and help them to speed up the process.

"After all that work, I want cake," Uriah says.

"You always want cake," Marlene says.

We all sit and grab some cake. Susan, Felicia, Brian, and Mike all enter and sit with us.

"I have an idea," Zeke says. "We need to blow off some steam. How about a game of capture the flag?"

All the Dauntless cheer. Those of us who came from Abnegation look a little puzzled.

"That's right, I forgot that none of you have ever played capture the flag before," Zeke says. "Basically it goes like this, we divide into two teams. We go out toward Navy Pier and each team hides their flag. The first team to capture the other team's flag wins."

"But there are only ten of us, that isn't enough for capture the flag," Will says.

"Well, we'll have to get some more. I'm sure if we found Lauren she would play," Zeke says.

We can also see about Fred, Frank, Steph, Lars, and Bruce from the tattoo parlor. They are all off today since Tori and Bud are back," I say.

We go out and gather all of the people we can to play then we get the paintball guns and run outside to the tracks to wait for the train.

"Who are going to be the captains?" Uriah asks.

"Me and Four," Zeke says like it's obvious. "We are leaders, therefore we are the captains."

The train comes and we all board quickly.

"All right, Four and I are going to be the captains," Zeke turns to Tobias. "Do you want to choose first?"

"No, you go ahead," Tobias says.

"I choose Shauna."

Who didn't know that?

"Tris," Tobias says.

"Bruce."

"Uriah."

"Lars."

"Will."

"Frank."

"Brian."

"Lauren."

"Christina."

"Fred."

"Marlene."

"Mike."

"Susan."

"Felicia."

"Steph."

"All right, Four's team you guys can get off first. Uriah, you tell them when they need to jump."

Uriah steps to the front to talks to Tobias. They both smile slyly then Tobias call to us. "All right my team, stand," Tobias yells over the wind. "Let's go."

We all jump from the train. When we jump I immediately realize why Tobias was smiling. It is the area of the Pier where the Carousel and the Ferris wheel are, our Ferris wheel. We know this area well. I'm so excited to be back here. We all walk toward the amusement park part of the Pier. Tobias comes up to me and wraps his arm around my waist.

"It's been a while since we've been here," he smiles.

"Yes it has. I love it here," I say.

"Where should we hide the flag?" Will asks.

"Well, during my initiation we hid it by the carousel. It's hard to see it in there from a distance," Uriah says.

Everyone agrees and we begin to walk toward the carousel.

"We need to come up with a plan to find their flag, but still protect ours," Uriah explains.

"Some people should stay here and guard and some people should go out and scout the other team's location." Will says.

"Yeah? You think?" Marlene interjects. "Who put you in charge?"

"No one," says Will. "But someone's got to do it."

"Maybe we should develop a more defensive strategy. Wait for them to come to us, and then take them out." Brian suggests.

"That's the sissy way out," Uriah objects. "I vote we go all out. Hide the flag well enough that they can't find it and everyone goes after their flag at once."

Suddenly the group erupts into arguments. Some arguing for offence, others for defense, and the rest arguing for Will's plan of splitting up. I know that they are all wrong. Then I get an idea, we climb. I take Tobias' hand and drag him over to the Ferris wheel.

"We need to climb," I say.

"All right, let's go," he says.

I begin climbing and he waits until I get part way up before he follows me. I can hear him struggling for breath behind me. I almost forgot that he is afraid of heights. He is always so brave about everything and he runs around the Dauntless compound like the climbing and heights are nothing. It is easy to forget that he actually has that fear.

"Are you okay down there?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he says.

It's a struggle for him but we make it up the ladder. When I try to look out over the horizon to where Zeke's team would be, all I can see is a building.

"I need to get higher, you don't have to follow."

"Tris, of course I have to follow," he says. "No way I'm letting you go up alone."

I pause and look up at the scaffolding. I start to climb by wedging my foot onto the place where two bars cross and pulling myself up, grabbing another bar in the process.

The wind blows and I sway for a second and my heart drops. Then Tobias is behind me, steadying me by holding my hip. He quickly follows behind me grabbing for the bars as my feet leave them.

When I get another ten feet up, I can see over the building that was blocking my view. I stop and look out over the building. Tobias continues to climb until he is right behind me, his feet straddling mine and his arms on either side of my body. His mouth is next to my ear. I point out over the building toward the marsh.

"See that?"

"Yeah," he says smiling. "It's coming from the park at the end of the pier," he says. "Figures. It's surrounded by open space, but the trees provide some camouflage. Obviously not enough."

"Guess they weren't anticipating anyone climbing the Ferris wheel," I say. I turn my head and our faces are about a half an inch apart. He leans in and kisses me on the lips.

When we pull back I say, "Start climbing down and I'll follow."

He starts down and I follow behind him. I place my foot on one of the cross bars and it creaks and snaps out from under me.

"Tobias!" I scream.

"Hold on, I'm coming," he says.

He climbs back up and tries to get to me. He manages to get to the rung that is right below me.

"Now listen to me, I'm tall enough that I can reach the bar that is below you. I'm going to bring myself under you and I want you to grab onto my neck and pull yourself onto my back."

I nod as he attempts to get below me then come up behind me so I can climb onto his back.

It is a slow process. He climbs warily to make sure that the bars will hold his weight. But slowly he makes his way up to me and I am able to climb onto his back. He climbs back down using the same bars that he used to climb up. We make our way back down to the platform and he lets me off of his back. My whole body is trembling but I know we aren't quite safe yet.

We quickly climb down the ladder and make our way hand in hand over to the carousel. Some of our group is gone.

"Where is everyone?" Tobias asks.

"Where were you two? We couldn't find you anywhere," Christina says.

"Tris climbed the Ferris wheel to see where the other team is."

They all look at me in shock. "Well then, where are they?" asks Uriah.

"They are in the park at the end of the Pier," Tobias says.

"What do we do?" Susan asks.

Everyone looks at me, I want to shy away from the attention. But then I suddenly get an idea. "Split in half," I say. "Three of us go to the right side of the pier, three to the left. The other team is in the park at the end of the pier, so the group on the left will charge as the group on the right sneaks up behind the other team to get the flag."

Everyone agrees. Tobias, Uriah, and I go to the right while Susan, Christina, and Marlene go to the left.

We wait until we hear shots ring out and see the people guarding their flag get shot with paint. Tobias, Uriah, and I run up to the tree where the flag is hanging from one of the branches. Next to me Uriah fires his gun and hits the last member of Zeke's team right in the chest. Tobias lifts me onto his shoulders so that I can reach the flag.

We won! Our team comes running and surrounds us excitedly. Everyone is screaming and pumping their fists. We turn around and see Zeke covered head to toe in multicolored paint. Zeke fires at Tobias and Uriah, so they run over and tackle Zeke to the ground. They are all laughing as they wrestle around.

It's the first time that I've ever really seen Tobias act like the eighteen year old boy that he is.

We return to the train and head back to Dauntless. I sit in Tobias' lap trying not to fall asleep.

The next thing I know he is waking me, it is time to jump.

**Sorry about the typos in the original. I've gone through and fixed them. **


	68. Chapter 68

I own nothing!

Chapter 68

Tobias

We meet in the cafeteria in the morning before any of the Dauntless arrive. Today we will draw the two names that will be part of the group to go out beyond the fence. There is a part of me that really wants to go but the dominant part of me wants my life here with Tris. I'm not willing to give that up and there is no way that Bud would allow her to leave here for this mission. He has become a tremendous father figure to her.

The Dauntless all begin to file into the cafeteria and get their breakfast. We asked for them to all arrive by eight in the morning for the announcement.

Tori begins, "Thank you all for coming in a timely fashion. We want to be sure that you all are here for the drawing. We decided this would be the fairest way to do this since we had thirty-seven people signup to go."

"The two that are chosen will begin training with Zeke and Four immediately following breakfast. Then in three days you will travel to the Hub to meet the rest of the group and begin to prepare to make the journey beyond the fence," Bud says.

"Without further ado," Zeke says. "The first name is… Zed Harris."

Zed walks to the front of the cafeteria and smiles. It amazes me that people are actually happy and excited about this. To me this seems like a drawing and the prize is death.

"The next name is… Farah Gordon"

Farah comes to the front and smiles also. She looks excited and ready to go.

"Once you two have finished your breakfast, please go to the training room where we will begin training," I tell them handing them.

They both nod and return to their tables to finish eating their breakfast.

I go and sit by Tris, I want to eat something before I have to go and spend the rest of the day in the training room.

She smiles and takes my hand under the table. We don't really talk, we just sit together with our friends and eat and participate in the conversation of the group. Uriah starts talking about how my team beat Zeke's in capture the flag two nights ago.

"Man, had I known that Tris was so smart and resourceful, I would have picked her first," Zeke says. Shauna smacks him playfully in the arm since she was the one that he chose first.

"How about your move of letting us get off the train first," Uriah says. "That was kind of a bonehead move too."

"Who knew anyone would be crazy enough to climb that Ferris wheel?" Zeke says.

"I knew, that wasn't the first time either of us have climbed that Ferris wheel. We used to walk to the Pier sometimes while we were in Abnegation," I say.

"Figures," Zeke says shaking his head. "Next time my team gets the amusement park."

"We will still win," Uriah says. "You picked brawn, Four chose brains and speed."

Everyone starts bickering after that comment and Tris just looks at me and smiles. We decide that there will be a rematch in a few weeks.

"Why so Zeke can get his butt kicked again?" I ask.

He pushes me hard so that I bump into Tris from the other side. She throws her muffin at him and he catches it in his mouth.

I'm hit with the realization that this is my life now, fun, bickering, friendship, and love. This is the life that I have always wanted without even realizing it. I never knew people could be this close that they can squabble without actually getting angry.

XXX

After lunch Zeke and I go up to the training room to meet Zed and Farah while Tris goes to her shift in the tattoo parlor and the rest of our friends go to work or back to their apartments.

We enter the room and Zed and Farah are already there waiting for us.

"Can you tell us why an eighteen year old and a Abnegation transfer are training two people who have been in Dauntless for over thirty-five years?" Zed asks.

Zeke doesn't say anything, he picks up a gun and fires at the target hitting it dead center five consecutive times. He is so accurate that he doesn't make any other holes on the target other than one. The two of them look at him in amazement. Then they look at me. Zeke nods toward the knives. I walk over and grab three knives from the table and turn to the target. Without a word I focus and throw the knives. Each hits right next to the previous one in the center of the target. Zeke smirks at me.

He turns to Zed and Farah, "Any more questions."

"Yeah actually, why do people call you Four?" she asks looking at me.

Zeke says, "I gave him that nickname because when he went through his fear landscape, he only had four fears and it only took him just over four minutes to get through his fears. Any more questions?"

They both regard me with more respect now that they can see why I'm here and why I'm a leader.

We spend the rest of the morning practicing with the guns and knives. By the end of the morning they are both almost as accurate as Zeke and me. It is amazing what people can do when they focus on their hold and practice their stances properly. Zeke taught me how to stand, and then Amar perfected it before we went to Erudite. He was a great trainer.

We eat lunch with Zed and Farah then return to the training room for fighting. They practice on the punching bags for a few hours, and then we have Will and Christina come in to spar with them.

Will and Zed are a pretty equal size match, but Will is younger and faster. Zed is definitely stronger but he is slow and he has bad habits in the way he holds his body that he just won't change.

Their fight only lasts for about seven minutes before Will hits him hard enough that Zed is dizzy and can't continue.

Christina and Farah fight next. Christina is a little taller than Farah, but Farah outweighs Christina by at least ten pounds. They are both pretty fast, but Christina is younger and possibly stronger.

They begin to fight and Farah goes for the first move, but Christina blocks it and kicks her to the ground. Farah recovers quickly and stands in time for Christina to throw a punch. Farah blocks and is able to get a blow into Christina's stomach.

Their fight continues for another ten minutes before Farah scissor-kicks Christina and knocks her to the floor. Christina hits her head hard on the mat and she is done. Will picks her up and carries her to the infirmary, she may have a concussion.

Farah seems pretty pleased with herself where as Zed is angry that Will defeated him.

"Okay, well I think that is enough for tonight. We will see you two tomorrow morning at eight," Zeke says.

They both say their goodbyes and leave the training room.

"What do you think, Four?"

"I think they will be fine so long as they can use weapons. If they have to fight someone, they could be in trouble."

Zeke smirks, "Yeah, that could be a problem. We can't fix what is wrong with the way they fight and reteach them before they have to leave."

I shake my head and snicker, "No way."

We turn to leave the training room and head off to dinner.

XXX

Zeke and I spend the next two days in the training room all day with Zed and Farah. We managed to fix some of their fighting problems. They may hold their own a little better with an experienced fighter.

On the last morning we all meet Tori, Harrison, and Bud in the conference room to discuss what is going to happen with them next. When we walk in Tori immediately turns to Farah and Zed.

"Okay," Tori says handing them each two guns, boxes of ammunition, and two pocket knives each. "We want to make sure you two are well armed but with weapons that you can conceal. It is important that you don't let these weapons out of your possession, especially when you are with the factionless."

"Yes," I say. "Don't trust them under any circumstances. They are about complete control. They won't be happy until they are leading this group, but it must stay a democracy. All decisions must be made as a group in order for the group to survive." I hand them both two duffel bags. "These are for your personal items, food, water and for you to hide your ammunition and whatever else you may think needs hidden from the others."

"How are we traveling?" Farah asks taking the duffel bags.

"Erudite is bringing one of their bigger automobiles, but we don't know what the roads will be like beyond Amity. For all we know there won't be any roads," Bud says.

"What about food and water, those duffel bags aren't going to carry much?" Zed asks.

"Amity is in charge of that, but we though it would be wise for you each to at least have some rations with you. Before we leave we will stop by the cafeteria so you can gather some items that you can bring with you," Harrison says.

"Guess that leave out the cake…" Farah says smirking.

"Yeah, probably," Bud says smiling.

"I guess that's it," Harrison says. "Just be careful and take this."

He hands them something that looks like an old fashion telephone. "This is a telephone," Harrison says. It will not make actual phone calls, but it has a feature that there is a walkie talkie inside of it. It can supposedly work over extensive distances. So hopefully, if you get into trouble you will be able to contact us."

Harrison leads them from the conference room and the rest of us watch as they descend to the cafeteria. After they are done there, they will go out to the tracks to board a train toward the unknown.


	69. Chapter 69

I own nothing!

Chapter 69

Tris

Three months have passed since the group left the hub to discover what is outside our gates.

In the past three months, Susan and Brian got married. It is traditional in Abnegation for people as young as seventeen to get married, so this isn't unusual to us. The Dauntless however, find this very strange since the average age of marriage here is twenty five.

Their wedding ceremony was beautiful and incorporated Dauntless, Amity, and Abnegation traditions. As is Dauntless tradition they had a public wedding in the pit that incorporated lots of Dauntless cake that Brian prepared himself. They moved all of Susan's things into Brian's apartment the day following the wedding and then took two days to themselves locked in their apartment as is tradition in Amity. This allows the newlyweds to get used to living in the same space without interruption. After their two days of solitude they volunteered to clean up around the train tracks outside of Dauntless to fulfill the Abnegation tradition of the newlyweds doing volunteer work together.

Bud and Tori have also decided to make things official and get married. They had a quiet ceremony that only a few of us attended. They didn't have the traditional best man or maid of honor. They just each chose someone to stand up for them. Bud asked me to stand up for him. He has become like my father and he treats me like I'm his daughter. He even scolds me when necessary and is the first one to praise me when something good happens. Tori chose Harrison to stand up for her. They have been friends since she transferred here almost twenty years ago.

Their ceremony was beautiful and private. They got married in the conference room then Brian and Susan brought up a great dinner and cake for everyone when the ceremony was over.

Now I feel like I have two parents again. They will never replace my real parents, but they are a good alternative. Especially since they each knew one of my parents and were good friends with them.

Zeke and Shauna are now engaged and are in the process of planning their wedding. They are planning on getting married just before the choosing ceremony, so their wedding will be here in about a week. It is going to be an all out Dauntless affair with lots of cake and alcohol. Brian has been working around the clock in the kitchen trying to prepare the feast that they are asking for. Tobias is going to be Zeke's best man and Lauren is going to be Shauna's maid of honor. So Tobias has been busy keeping Zeke in order while still performing his leader and control room duties.

Uriah and Marlene, and Will and Christina are all still dating just like Tobias and I are. None of us are in any hurry to get married. We are all just having fun together and doing our thing.

The factions are getting back to the way they were before the war, although Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite are significantly smaller. Cara has been working on improving the simulation serum for the Dauntless initiation that will be here in a matter of weeks. Tobias has asked for it to test specific reactions to specific stimuli. We have been told about how brutal Dauntless initiation had gotten under the old leaders, so now it is Tobias' mission to bring Dauntless back to the way it was originally supposed to be. Bravery in the small moments of life is in the Dauntless manifesto. That is what he wants to bring back.

They have also decided to at least temporarily end only keeping the top ten initiates. They have decided that they will still rank them, but no one will be kicked out. Their rank will only determine their job placement. Zeke has convinced Tobias to help with initiation by training the transfers while Zeke trains the Dauntless born. Tobias is very nervous about this, but he was a great instructor in Abnegation, he is going to be the same here.

We received word two weeks ago from Zed and Farah. So far the group has found no cities that are inhabited. They have traveled south as far as what was once considered Kentucky and are now beginning to travel northeast toward what used to be considered New York City. It was once a huge city full of people. They are hoping to find some signs of life there. They are also intending on trying to find the area that was once the capitol of the country while they are traveling to New York. At this point we are just hoping that they find some people somewhere.

I'm still giving tattoos and happily living with Tobias. Lately we hardly see each other with all of the preparations that he is helping Zeke with for the wedding and initiation. He makes it a point to eat every meal with me, but most days I'm in bed before he gets home. Even my days off are mostly spent with one of our friends because Zeke has him so busy. He still makes sure that he does little things to remind me of how much he loves me. There are many days that I find little love notes on my station in the tattoo parlor, on my pillow, or on the mirror in the bathroom, always reminding me that this won't last much longer.

XXX

Shauna and Zeke's wedding day is finally here. I help Tobias dress in the clothes that they have requested. It is a simple black suit, with a black shirt, and black tie. He looks very handsome. Once he is dressed he kisses me.

"I'll see you in the Pit in two hours, right?"

"I'll be there," I tell him smiling. What I haven't told him is that Christina and I went shopping and I got this fabulous black and silver sequin dress that comes down to my knees, it is much tighter than I'm used to, strapless, and has the right side cut out and it perfectly exposes my roses. I've also been practicing walking in heels when I'm home alone or at Christina's so that I don't fall and get hurt.

I walk him to the door and he presses his lips to mine firmly and pulls me into him. "I'll see you later, I love you."

"I love you too, have fun."

He leaves and I rush into the shower so that I can get down to Christina's apartment to start getting ready.

I rush to Christina's room and knock on the door frantically. There is only an hour and a half until the ceremony and I don't want to be late. She opens the door and looks as disheveled as I am right now. I enter her room and Susan, Marlene, and Felicia are all there as well. They are all ready, so this is all about Christina and me getting ready. Felicia helps with my hair while Marlene does my makeup. When they are done I'm amazed at how good these girls are at this. I still struggle with eyeliner and mascara.

My eyes are sparkling and they are the first thing you see when you look at my face. My hair hangs in ringlets over my shoulders to the middle of my back. I go into the bathroom to slip on the dress while they help Christina finish getting ready. Christina can usually handle this on her own, but she wanted something new done to her hair that only Felicia knew how to do because it is an Amity thing.

I walk out of the bathroom in the black dress that shows off all of my tattoos and the heels that Christina insisted I get and learn how to wear.

"Tris, you look amazing," Christina says. All of the other girls nod.

"Four is going to flip when he sees you," Marlene adds.

Christina slips on a beautiful black mini dress that shows off her long legs and her butterfly tattoo. She looks amazing.

We all head down to the ceremony. I make sure that Tobias doesn't see me yet. He is looking around like he is trying to find me, but I've decided that I want this to be a surprise.

Zeke walks to the front of the aisle and stands with Tobias. The music starts and a beautiful Lauren strolls down the aisle in a beautiful full length black gown. It has a silver and black sequin bodice and a full length black skirt. She looks beautiful. She takes her place and turns to face the aisle again.

The music starts and Shauna appears. She is gorgeous in her beautiful white dress. Her dress looks like a dress from one of the princess movies that the girls and I have watched when the guys were busy or working. It reminds me of the one in the Cinderella movie. It is full and flowy at the bottom and the top is strapless.

Zeke's eyes just about pop out of his head when he sees her. When she gets to the front he pulls her into him and whispers something in her ear that makes her blush a little.

The ceremony only lasts about twenty minutes and then it is time for us to cross the Pit to the reception. This is where I will stop hiding behind people and let Tobias see me.

The girls and I make our way to the cafeteria, which is where we will be eating. They decided that everyone from Dauntless could come, so this is the only room big enough to accommodate all of us. Everyone has assigned tables if you are a close friend of Zeke and Shauna. They even made it so Lauren could sit with her boyfriend and Tobias could sit with me.

When Tobias and Lauren come in the first thing I see him do is scan the crowd for me. When our eyes meet he looks at me from head to toe. A huge smile crosses his face as he pulls Laruen faster toward our table. They separate and he comes over to me and pulls me into the most passionate kiss that we have ever shared in public.

"Tris, you look amazing. That dress is gorgeous." He kisses me again and pulls me tight to his body.

The music starts playing and I turn toward the doors. Tobias keeps his arms wrapped around my waist. Shauna and Zeke come in and walk toward their table. They are both smiling profusely at all of their friends and family.

For the rest of the night we dance, eat, drink, and have fun. Tobias can't seem to keep his hands off of me, constantly telling me how beautiful I look and how much he loves this dress. When it is finally time to go home for the night, Tobias decides to carry me to our apartment. He opens the door and we barley make it in before he starts kissing me passionately.

We spend the rest of the night kissing and groping and undressing each other. When I wake in the morning I've never been happier in the arms of the man that I love.

**A note from me:**

**Although some of our couples have gotten married in this chapter, I don't believe that Tris and Tobias should get married right now. He gave her the ring when he did so that she knew how much he loved her and to give her something to fight for while they were fighting the war. Although I love the idea of them living happily ever after, I'm not sure that happily ever after should begin with their immediate marriage at such a young age.**


	70. Chapter 70

I own nothing!

Chapter 70

Tobias

I wake in the morning following Zeke's wedding with Tris wrapped in my arms. She looks so young and fragile when she sleeps, the way an almost seventeen year old girl should look.

I lie here and watch her sleep. I still can't believe that after almost a year that this girl loves me and wants to be with me. The once broken shell of a boy has become the man that she deserves.

We haven't talked about getting married since I put the ring on her finger. With all of the weddings, maybe it is time to bring it up again.

I gently pull my arm out from under her head and go into the bathroom. When I'm done I go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast for us. Bacon, eggs, and toast.

The smell of the food must have woken her because before I know it her dainty hands are wrapped around my waist from behind.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she asks.

"Just thought we could spend the morning alone together instead of rushing out to the cafeteria for breakfast."

"That sounds wonderful, can I help?"

"Sure, do you want to make the toast?"

She nods and walks to the cabinet and reaches for the bread. I can't help but stare at her. She is wearing one of my T-shirts and a pair of black lacy underwear and that is all. She is so perfect and beautiful that I have to turn away and focus or I'll burn our food.

We finish preparing our food, she pours us each a glass of orange juice, and we go back to our bedroom to eat, cuddle, and watch a movie until it is time for work.

"Um… so Tris, we haven't talked about getting married since I proposed. That was almost seven months ago," I say without taking my eyes off of my plate.

"I wasn't sure you wanted to talk about it. You have been so busy with everything that is going on."

"Well, what are you thinking?"

"I absolutely want to marry you, but we don't have to do it right now if you don't want to. I honestly feel like we are already married."

"Yeah, so do I. But maybe we should consider making it official," I say. "What kind of wedding would you like to have?"

"I'm not sure. I liked what Tori and Bud did. Private, quiet, and very personal. The one thing I do want is for Bud to walk me down the aisle like my father would have."

Tears begin to form in her eyes and suddenly I realize why she hasn't said anything about it. She is sad that none of her family will be there. Caleb being put to death last month brought back all of the feelings of loss and regret that she has felt since the death of her parents. Caleb's betrayal has reopened all those wounds that she had insisted were healed. Even though she has made a new family here, they can't ever replace what she lost. And that loss and realization that her mother and father won't be present for one of the most important days in her life is what is holding her back.

I pull her into me and kiss the top of her head. "We can wait a while. There is no rush, we are young and have lots of time."

She nods her head and smiles through her tears. We will have our day, when the pain of losing her family has lessened a little more.

XXX

After our long morning of breakfast in bed and just enjoying our time alone together, we both have to return to work. When I get up to the conference room with the other leaders I find that we received word from Zed and Farah today. They have found a small community of people in the area that was once called New York City. This used to be a bustling city with over eight million people living there. Today Zed says there are maybe a few hundred thousand people living there.

About seventy years ago there was a massive worldwide war that annihilated a vast majority of the continents' west coast. The people that survived made their way across the continent toward the east, but what they didn't know was that they were infected with a deadly disease that contaminated everyone that they came into contact with. The disease traveled as far as the Midwest and Ohio River Valley before all of the people died horrible deaths. The people left on the east coast were left to try to recreate their lives. Many died of starvation, and from drinking tainted water and breathing the polluted air.

The people of New York City told them that there are only a couple communities still surviving on the west coast. New York being the most plentyful. There are small communities in a couple other places to the south, but there are only another couple hundred thousand people among all of those communities. These people aren't the mutated versions of humans that I had feared, but they are broken and damaged people. Living much like the factionless would live in our city. They also found out that our city was once called Chicago. They knew of the experiment, but they had all assumed that we had died out from natural causes.

The group that went out on this adventure will not be returning anytime in the near future. The Erudite of the group has discovered that these people are contaminated with some kind of virus that they have become immune to, however it has already contaminated our scouting group. One of the factionless and one of the Candor are already ill and aren't expected to make it. Our Erudite are working with their local doctors to try to come up with a cure to help them and a vaccine to protect the rest of them.

This new is a huge blow to all of the factions. There are people out there, but we can't have contact with them because some microscopic thing could kill us.

"We have a meeting in an hour at the Hub with all of the other leaders," Harrison says. "We will need to go get the train now if we expect to be on time."

We all stand and head straight for the trains. Zeke and I send messages to Tris and Shauna about leaving the compound for a while. Zeke is supposed to be on his honeymoon right now, but was called away for this meeting.

We arrive at the Hub and all of the leaders from the other factions are already there discussing our options.

"What are we going to do?" asks Cara from Erudite. "We can't allow these people to come into our city, they will infect us all."

"Do you have any idea what kind of disease that they have?" asks Johanna from Amity.

"All we know for sure is it is something that they all have. They have built an immunity to it so it doesn't affect them. To outsiders like us, it can be deadly. We have been working with our people trying to help them manufacture a vaccine, but we are having no luck so far. Nothing that we have come up with is helping the two that have become ill. We are sure that the rest of them are infected, but have yet to show signs."

"So what are we going to do?" asks a man from Candor. "We can't just sit here and wait for these people to come and infect us."

"We lock the gates. No one in, no one out unless you have identification that you belong here. We will need to have security at the gate along with security surrounding the Amity compound," I say.

"And how are we going to do that?" Marcus asks. I try to ignore his presence, but every time I speak, he has something to say. When will he learn to leave me alone?

"The Dauntless will continue to guard the gates, but we will need some help from the factionless to guard the perimeter of the Amity compound."

"We can help you, how many will you need?" Evelyn asks.

Harrison turns to Johanna, "What is the size of the Amity compound?"

"The perimeter is about three hundred yards around not including the fence side."

I think about this for a moment and turn to Evelyn, "They are going to need at least forty-five guards, so that they can have three shifts of fifteen guards. That is a large expanse to have to cover. We can't allow any of it to go unmanned for any period of time."

"We can take care of that," Evelyn says. "What about weapons and where will these guards live?"

"We can arrange for housing for all of the guards at the Amity compound," Johanna says.

"We have manufactured new nonlethal taser guns. They will knock someone out cold with one hit, but it won't kill them, thus allowing us to quarantine them for questioning," Cara says. She turns to us, "We would appreciate it if you would consider using them so we can see how they react in real world situations."

Tori and Bud both nod their heads in agreement. I look toward Evelyn and she seems pleased that the factionless will be involved in such an important experiment.

All of the leaders decided have unanimously agreed that our gates would be closed and locked and Dauntless guards would be on duty at the gate all times to prevent anyone unauthorized from entering. There will also be factionless guards armed with taser guns surrounding the Amity compound to protect them. Now that these people know that we are here, we have to live in fear.

"If that is all, we will adjourn…" Marcus begins but Evelyn cuts him off.

"We have one more order of business to discuss. We no longer wish to be referred to as the factionless. Obviously we are a faction, we live and work together just like the rest of you," Evelyn says.

"Each faction has a specific virtue that we value above all others, selflessness, honesty, intelligence, bravery, and peace. If we were to agree to this, what virtue would you hold dear?" Marcus says.

"Autonomy, independence. The factionless are all about independence and our ability to be self-sufficient. We believe that this is our guiding virtue."

"But you are factionless, you have been thrown out of all other factions," someone from Candor says.

"No, many of our members have chosen to leave their faction for one reason or another. We welcomed them with open arms and taught them to live for themselves. We believe that we should have the right to be considered a faction and that our sixteen year olds should have the right to be included in the choosing ceremony. None of them chose our faction, just like none of your sixteen year olds chose yours."

"I'm in agreement," Tori says. "They have proven an asset and have been working diligently in rebuilding our city."

"All in favor of the creation of the Autonomy faction, raise your hand," Marcus says reluctantly.

Most hands go up except for Marcus, the Candor that was complaining, and someone from Erudite.

"Congratulations Autonomy, we will need your manifesto within the week so that our sixteen year olds know what they are choosing if they chose your faction. The choosing ceremony is in one week from today," Marcus says. "We will also need those that are not going to become Abnegation to vacate our compound within the week. Those that wish to join us are still welcome."

Evelyn agrees.

XXX

By the time we return to Dauntless, it is dark. None of us speak much, we are all exhausted and ready for bed.

I go to the tattoo parlor to find Tris giving Uriah a new tattoo. She has become one of the most sought after tattoo artists in the compound, second only to Bud. It can take people weeks to get in with her.

"So what are you doing here so late?" I ask.

"Uriah wanted a tattoo so I said I'd stay late so he could get it."

She continues to work while Uriah and I talk about the meeting.

"So there are going to be factionless guards out there now too?"

"Yes, we can't spare the manpower so they agreed to send a group to guard the perimeter of Amity outside the gates. And they are no longer going to be called factionless. They have been allowed to be considered a faction. They will be now known as Autonomy."

"Autonomy?" Tris asks.

"Yes, independence."

"So now people will be able to transfer there if they so choose?" Uriah asks.

"Yes, Autonomy is now a choice for the sixteen year olds to make just like the rest of the factions."

"I guess people can grow and change," Tris says.

She finishes Uriah's tattoo, she deducts his points, and he leaves. As she is cleaning up I say, "I think I'm due for another tattoo."

"Do you want one now?" she asks.

"Do you mind?"

"No, what do you want."

"I want you to tattoo a ring around my finger on my left hand."

She looks at me shocked. "You mean like where a wedding band would go?"

"Exactly, so everyone knows that I am spoken for, forever."

She kisses me and gets to work on an intricate design on my ring finger. She says it is a design she saw in an old book years ago. It has two hands holding a heart with a crown on top. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty, and the heart represents love. Then she moves her engagement ring just enough for me to see.

"I had Bud tattoo it on me a couple days ago, just before Zeke and Shauna's wedding."

I look at her finger and she has the same exact ring tattooed on her finger. I take her hand in mine and kiss it. Then I move close to her and press my lips to hers.

"Come on, let's go to bed," she says taking my hand. We leave the tattoo parlor and lock up before heading home.


	71. Twenty Years Later

I own nothing!

Twenty Years Later

Tris

About twenty years ago we found out that there are still people living out on the east coast. They had some kind of immunity to a virus that ended up killing all by three of the people that were sent in that scouting group. We have had some contact with our former scouts, one of which was Edward, Evelyn's right hand man. He, Farah, and an Erudite man named Mitchell managed to survive the virus. He and Farah are now living together in New York City. Over the years many of the people that were living along the east coast were wiped out by plague, disease caused by malnutrition, and natural disasters. We sent other groups out over the years to help them with farming and water purification but we have no other contact. The gates remain closed because Erudite was never able to discover what the virus was that killed most of the scouting groups that we have sent out.

Despite our best efforts to bridge the gap between the people in New York and our city, it seems that both groups of people have built up different immunities to different viruses. Because of that when a group came from New York, they immediately fell ill and returned, only to have most of their group die on their trip back. This has caused both sets of leaders to agree to keep the cities separate for everyone's safety. We don't know what the viruses are, and no one in either city is able to figure out a way to stop it.

We have tried to send out scouting groups to in other directions throughout the continent but have never found any people other than the ones in New York. They have also sent out scouting groups with no luck at any life. All of the people that had been living along the east coast twenty years ago have been completely wiped out. So far New York and Chicago are the only cities with people still living and flourishing.

Currently New York is much like Chicago, a gated community that is selective about who is let in. We exchange farming and water purification technology, but we have no communication other than through ancient satellites that people like Tobias and Zeke have learned how to harness and use. We are separated by nearly eight hundred miles of barren uninhabitable land. We might as well be thousands of miles away.

This is the post apocalyptic world that we live in. We have to preserve our lives as best we can without much contact to the only other living people that we know of.

XXX

"Tobias come on, you are going to be late. The new initiates are going to be here any time now," I yell from the kitchen.

Kenzie and Gage sit at the table eating their lunch, waiting for their father to eat so we can all go to the net. They can't wait to see if their older brother Kyle has decided to stay in Dauntless or has switched factions.

When Tobias enters the kitchen, Kenzie goes and sits on his lap. She is almost fifteen but is still daddy's little girl.

"Dad, can I stand at the net with you this year?" she asks.

"No Kenzie, I told you already you can't. Only trainers can stand on the platform to wait for the initiates. You'll have to stand with everyone else."

"But Daddy," she says batting her eyes.

"Oh Kenz, stop it. He's already told you no like a thousand times," Gage says.

"Shut-up Gage," Kenzie snaps.

"That's enough, both of you. You will be fine standing with Quentin and Colton and everyone else. Now go get ready to go," I tell them.

They rush off to their rooms and Tobias pulls me into his lap. "They are more exhausting now than they were when they were little."

We kiss at the kitchen table for a long time, "Ewww… Mom, Dad, stop it!" Kenzie whines.

Tobias and I both snicker and kiss again. "Man, you two are gross."

"Kenzie, don't you have somewhere to be?" Tobias asks.

She turns and stomps off to the living room. Gage comes in next.

"Mom, do you work today?"

"Yes Gage, why?"

"Well you said that when I turn fifteen that I could get my first tattoo and well, I'm fifteen now and…"

"Okay Gage, you can get it. Do you want me to do it or do you want Grandpa Bud to do it?"

"I want you to do it. And I even know what I want. I was looking at your sketch book and saw the perfect thing," he says.

"Go get Mom's sketch book and show us," Tobias says.

Then he looks at me, "Are you sure about this?"

"What, letting him get a tattoo now? We let Kyle get his first at fifteen. So why not?"

He shrugs. Gage comes back in with my sketch book open revealing an image I drew a couple days ago. It is an image of ripped skin and muscle that shows gears beneath the where the skin would be, like the person is a robot that looks human. It is meant for the forearm or bicep.

"I want this on the inside of my forearm," he says.

"That's a good choice, Gage," Tobias says. "I was looking at that one myself a couple days ago.

"It's a Mom original, so that is what I want for my first tattoo."

I pull Gage into a hug, "It will be my pleasure. You can come to the shop with me after the initiates arrive."

He jumps up. "Okay," he says excitedly. He runs off to tell Kenzie.

"Well, I think you just made his day," Tobias says smiling.

"What do you think Kyle did, do you think he stayed?" I ask refusing to make eye contact with him.

"I'm sure he stayed. He loves Dauntless. Besides I think he would have told us if he was thinking about leaving."

"Are you sure?" I say worried.

He kisses me, "I'm sure."

I nod, "Then I'm sure too." He kisses me again.

Kenzie and Gage come into the kitchen, "Really? Is that all you two do?" Kenzie asks.

"Honestly Kenzie, if we didn't you wouldn't be here," Tobias says.

"Ewww… Dad!"

"Can we go down to Uncle Uriah's to get Colton and Quentin?" Gage asks. "We'll meet you at the net."

"Go ahead," I tell them and they rush out the door.

"Next year is a big year, you know that right. Uriah's boys, Gage, Kenzie, Zoe, and Harper will all be sixteen," Tobias says.

"Yeah, I know. It's hard to believe. Speaking of Zeke's kids, What do you think Zepher will do? Gage told me that Zoe has been a nervous wreck all week. She told Gage that Zepher has been acting kind of weird."

"I don't know Zeke has been pretty worried too."

I look over at the clock on the wall and begin to stand "We better get going or you are going to be late."

He pulls be back down into his lap and kisses me again, "You know, we could have another one."

I look at him like he's insane, "Another what?"

"Baby."

I laugh, "Yeah, I don't think so. I'm thirty seven years old. I have a sixteen year old, a fifteen year old, and one that is almost fifteen. I think I have enough babies."

He laughs, a hearty laugh that always makes me feel warm and happy. He takes my hand in his and plays with my wedding band and engagement ring. I turn his hand over and run my finger across his wedding ring tattoo that matches mine. Those were the most meaningful tattoos that either of us has ever gotten. They were a sign of our devotion to each other. A permanent mark of our love.

"Besides," I say. "Next year it's going to be just you and me again. It's been a long time since it's been just us." I kiss him passionately.

"If you don't stop that, I'm never going to get to the net on time," he says through a laugh.

"Maybe that's the idea," I wink and stand up pulling him up with me.

We walk hand in hand through the Pit to the net. This year Tobias will be training the transfers with Uriah, and Zeke and Lauren will be training the Dauntless born. We get to the net and stand on the platform to await the train. Zeke and Tobias both look nervous as they wait to see if their sons have chosen Dauntless or if they have transferred.

We hear the train arrive and can hear Bud and Tori above talking to the initiates.

The first jumper comes into view at the top of the building. Then another image stands with them. It seems that they are going to jump together. They become airborne and plummet to the new without a sound. The first is a boy dressed in black with black hair and olive skin like his father, Zepher. Zeke lets out a sigh of relief. He grabs his son's hand and pulls him to the platform.

The next boy rolls from the net and grabs Tobias' hand. He has dark brown hair and blue/grey eyes, Kyle. Tobias smiles and pulls him from the net.

"Names," Tobias says trying to sound official but he can't hide his happiness.

"Zepher."

"Kyle."

"First jumpers, Zepher and Kyle."

The crowd comes out cheering and pumping their fists. Kenzie, Gage, and Zoe all run up and hug their brothers. They were all so worried about what the boys were going to do and now they are just relieved that they are here. I wave the three younger kids back and step from the net to stand with Christina.

"You had to be a nervous wreck," Christina says when I stand next to her. "I don't know what I'm going to do next year. What if Harper decides to leave?"

"I think she will be fine. It isn't the same as when we had our choosing. We had to stay with our own faction all of the time. It isn't like that anymore. My kids have friends from other factions that they hang out with from time to time."

"What if they would choose to leave the city completely?" Chris asks.

"Chris, she isn't going to leave the city completely, there is nowhere for her to go. New York is too far away and the rest of the land surrounding us is uninhabitable and desolate. Harper isn't going anywhere."

"Maybe you're right," Christina sighs. "I guess I'm just being silly."

"No, you are being a nervous mother."

She hugs me and smiles. "I guess time will tell."

The instructors all lead the initiates off to their dorms or to give them a tour of their new home. Later we will all meet in the cafeteria for dinner.

All of the kids come running up to me, I guess Gage is ready for his tattoo.

"Mom, you ready?" Gage asks excitedly.

"Sure, let's go."

"Mom, can Aunt Tris give me my first tattoo also?" Harper asks Christina.

"Are you sure you are ready for that?" Chris asks.

"Mom, please," Harper whines.

"Okay, go ahead."

"What about me, Aunt Tris," Zoe asks.

"You have to ask your father. There is no way I'm giving you a tattoo without either his or your mother's approval. Go ask them and have them let me know."

"If Gage is getting his, can I get one too? I'll be fifteen in a week," Kenzie says.

"Kenz, if you can convince your father, then it is fine with me. But he wasn't thrilled that I'm letting Gage and he has been fifteen for ten months now."

Kenzie pouts and doesn't say a word. She knows it is not a good idea to bother her father on the first day of initiation.

We get to the tattoo parlor and Gage excitedly sits at my station while I prepare the sketch and make the transfer.

After we are finished we all go to the cafeteria to greet the new initiates and have dinner.

The kids all go running in to find their brothers and friends and I go and sit with Tobias and our family. These people are not just my friends, they are my family. We have laughed, cried, fought, and rebuilt our world together. There is nothing that they wouldn't do for me and I wouldn't do for them.

Once Kyle sees me sitting at the table he comes over with Gage and Kenzie, "Mom, you made this tattoo?"

"Of course she did," Bud says. "Your mother is the best tattoo artist in Dauntless."

"You have to draw me a new one, please…" he says. He comes over and hugs me. He whispers in my ear, "Gage said you never doubted that I would be back. Thanks for having faith in me."

I kiss his cheek, "Kick ass kid. I know you can do it!"

He smiles and goes back to the other initiates. Gage and Kenzie sit down between Tobias and me. All of the kids are sitting with their parents. They all realize that next year it will be their turn to make the choice. And whether they choose to stay or go, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we are all a family and family can be found anywhere.

The End

**I hope you have enjoyed my story. Now that it has come to an end, please let me know what you think. I hope you are as happy with the ending as I am. I think I tied up all of the loose ends and was able to explain that I don't see the post apocalyptic United States as a wonderland full of people. I see it as a desolate waste land destroyed by years of war and hardships. Our favorite people couldn't just find something wonderful out there because once it is all said and done there is nothing wonderful about an apocalypse and that is what I always imagined Edith Prior running away from, the end of her world because of the annihilation of the country. **

**I'll be starting a new story soon so please be on the lookout for that one!**


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